The Yankees' catching situation has been a season-long headache. New York's backstops have combined for a .519 OPS in 2026, tied for the worst mark in baseball, and Brian Cashman has already copped to it being a real problem. That's why the rumor mill has the Yankees connected to just about every available catcher on the trade board: Hunter Goodman in Colorado, Ryan Jeffers in Minnesota, Luis Torrens across town with the Mets, even Sean Murphy or Shea Langeliers depending on who you ask.
But Jon Heyman threw a wrinkle into the conversation, suggesting the front office might not need to give up a single prospect at all. His pitch: look at what JC Escarra is doing in Triple-A before mortgaging any future value for outside help.
Jon Heyman floated JC Escarra's scorching Triple-A numbers as a reason the Yankees could shop in-house instead of trading for a catcher.
Before surrendering prospects on the trade market for a catcher (Goodman, Jeffers, Torrens, perhaps Langeliers, among top targets), maybe the Yankees should give JC Escarra, (1.055 ops at aaa) another look.
The numbers back him up, at least at the minor league level. Escarra's carrying a 1.055 OPS at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the kind of stat line that would headline any lineup. The catch is that it hasn't translated yet in the big leagues, where he's scuffled to a .541 OPS across his time on the roster this year and has already been optioned down and recalled more than once, most recently after Austin Wells landed on the injured list with a head issue.
That yo-yo usage is exactly why Heyman's suggestion is worth entertaining. Escarra has bounced between the Bronx and Triple-A all season, working in a timeshare behind the plate with Ali Sanchez whenever he's up. If the power and OPS he's flashing at Triple-A show up even partially in a real big-league sample, that's a much cheaper fix than surrendering a prospect for a rental or a multi-year deal.
The external options aren't cheap or simple, either. Jeffers is hitting .292 with 7 home runs and 28 RBIs for the Twins, a legitimate upgrade, but he'd cost real prospect capital. Goodman is viewed as a long shot since the rebuilding Rockies have no incentive to move him. Torrens is the more realistic swap, a strong defender making a manageable $4.75 million through next season, but even that requires giving something up.
So the Yankees are staring down a classic buy-versus-build call at the deadline. Trade for a proven bat behind the plate and pay in young talent, or bet that Escarra's Triple-A tear is more signal than noise and let him keep earning it. Watch what happens the next time Wells needs a breather, because that call-up will say a lot about which way New York is leaning.