The New York Yankees are looking to improve ahead of the trade deadline and have their sights on adding a catcher.
"It's become an area of concern, clearly, when it wasn't expected to be," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. "But I know (catcher Austin Wells is) doing everything he can, and they are doing everything they can, to improve in that category. And I know they are capable of that. At the same time, it's been a struggle."
Yankees' catchers have combined to hit .174/.249/.267 with six home runs and 24 RBIs this season. Wells has been particularly bad, posting a career-worst .504 OPS (42 OPS+) in 66 games.
New York has been strongly connected to Minnesota Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers, according to Hoch. The pending free agent has been terrific in 39 contests in 2026, slashing .292/.404/.538 with seven homers and 28 RBIs.
However, Cashman didn't limit the team's potential acquisitions to just catchers.
"I think we're open-minded at the deadline to try to improve ourselves, period, end of story," Cashman said. "We'll evaluate what's available and try to push in on anything that makes sense, whether it's pitching or offense."
The Yankees entered the All-Star break holding the AL's top wild-card spot with a 54-42 record.
