Yankees catcher Austin Wells has cervical headaches, joins Judge and Stanton on injured list

NEW YORK (AP) — Austin Wells, in the midst of a season-long slump, joined Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton on the 10-day injured list Saturday when the New York Yankees said the catcher was sidelined by cervical headaches.

Catcher J.C. Escarra was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre after being optioned to the Triple-A after Friday night's 5-3 loss to Boston. New York selected the contract of Ali Sanchez from the RailRiders, giving the Yankees a right-handed-hitting catcher for the first time since 2024.

Wells is hitting .166 with four homers and seven RBIs in 47 games in his third full season as New York’s starting catcher. He was 0 for 3 in the series opener against the Red Sox and is hitless in his last 13 at-bats and 1 for his last 18.

“Austin came in late last night and just complained about some neck stuff that was leading to headaches,” manager Aaron Boone said after Saturday's game against the Red Sox was postponed due to rain.

Boone said Wells consulted with a neurologist and tested negative for a concussion. Wells is to undergo further testing Sunday.

Wells took a backswing off the mask from Toronto's Jesús Sánchez on May 19, but Boone was unsure whether that caused the injury.

“Obviously catchers get hit, so it's tough to say if it's cumulative stuff, but last night he noticed he felt like just with his neck and headache stuff," Boone said. "So, obviously, he wanted to look into that."

Yankees catchers entered Saturday with a .171 batting average, lowest among AL catchers.

Wells hit .224 with 38 homers and 126 RBIs in his first two full seasons.

Sánchez batted ninth and is New York’s first right-handed hitting catcher since Jose Trevino started Game 3 of the 2024 World Series against the Dodgers.

In his second season, Escarra is hitting .177 with no homers and seven RBIs in 22 games. Last season, Escarra batted .202 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 40 games.

Sánchez joined the Yankees after hitting .227 with six homers and 11 RBIs in 40 games in Triple-A. He also threw out 28% (12 of 31) of attempted base stealers.

Sánchez hit .183 in 50 career games for the Mets, St. Louis, Miami, Toronto and Boston. He also has thrown out nearly 24% (10 of 28) attempted base stealers.

Stanton hits on field for second time, continues running

Giancarlo Stanton, who hasn't played since April 24 due to a right calf strain, took at-bats against injured reliever Angel Chivilli for the second time this week.

Stanton took four at-bats while seeing about 10 pitches. He also faced Chivilli on Wednesday.

Stanton ran in the outfield from the right field foul line to an area behind second base. Stanton also ran past first base a few times while starting about halfway up the foul line.

“He’s in his second week of running,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Hopefully sooner rather than later but he’s continuing to build up the running portion.”

Judge was put on the IL this week with a stress fracture to a rib.

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