Ben Rice has made it clear he has a legitimate, middle-of-the-order, big league bat.
Austin Wells has made it clear he is a legitimate big league catcher.
If the Yankees could merge the two players into one, they might have one of the top all-around catchers in the game.
Instead, getting the rest of their games to catch up to their current strengths remains the next challenge in line as the Yankees try to best utilize Rice and Wells in the same lineup.
Aside from a stretch in August when Rice threatened to take over the bulk of the starts behind the plate, Wells spent the season as the full-time Yankees catcher.
Rice’s bat made sure he still started eight more games (120) than Wells (112), because of his ability to play first base as well as a heavy dose of DH early in the season, when Giancarlo Stanton was injured.
The Yankees may not want to fully rule out Rice’s future as a catcher just yet, but the simplest solution for Rice to be in the lineup everyday next year figures to be as their starting first baseman, with Paul Goldschmidt headed to free agency.
The 26-year-old Rice hit .255 with 26 home runs and a .836 OPS, continuing to hit the ball hard — his average exit velocity of 93.3 mph ranked ninth among qualified hitters — wherever the Yankees put him.
Defensively, he had the weakest throwing arm among of the Yankees’ three catchers, and graded out as a below-average framer, but largely held his own in limited action.
He made progress at first base throughout the year, though he still struggled with scoops and certain nuances that come with more reps at the position.
“What he did was incredible,” Goldschmidt said. “I didn’t really see him play last year, so I didn’t know what to expect. But he hit from start to finish for us this year and was amazing. But the tough thing for him was not playing a position those first couple months outside of spot starts here and there, and then by the end of the year, he was playing great defense at catcher and great at first base.”
Goldschmidt, speaking after the Yankees were knocked out of the ALDS, pointed to Rice’s work before Game 4.
He was out of the starting lineup, but caught a bullpen session and then ditched his catcher’s gear to take ground balls at first base — a common sight throughout the season as Rice continued to put in the work to stay sharp at both positions.
“That’s incredibly hard to do,” Goldschmidt said. “Just a guy who continues to learn and get better. I’m sure he even got better hitting-wise too. … Great asset to this organization, whether he continues to play two positions or just one of those.”
That may be intertwined with the future of Wells, the former bat-first prospect who has actually made a bigger impact with his defense through his first two-plus seasons in the big leagues.
Wells is coming off a season in which he hit just .219 with a .712 OPS and 21 home runs in 126 games — numbers brought down by a rough two-month stretch that lasted into mid-August, when Rice began to get more starts behind the plate, before Wells rebounded with a strong finish.
For his career, he is a .224 hitter with a .717 OPS across 260 games.
The Yankees were willing to live with that kind of offensive production because of the strides Wells has made behind the plate (while still believing there is more in there with his bat).
Pitchers consistently lauded Wells throughout the season for his game-calling, while his framing — which the Yankees place a premium on, and should still have a place in the game despite the automated ball-strike system coming to the majors next season — ranked third best among all catchers.
“Really have a lot of trust in him back there,” manager Aaron Boone said during the ALDS.
If the Yankees make Rice their full-time first baseman, that would likely mean carrying a third catcher (a true backup to Wells) as they did for most of this season in J.C. Escarra.
It was not particularly optimal to have all three catchers hit left-handed, so it is possible the Yankees look for a righty-swinging catcher to add to the mix as well.
