The Yankees’ catching situation is one of the worst in baseball. Austin Wells has developed into an excellent framer and a solid defensive player overall, but he just can’t seem to produce anything offensively. It’s incredibly frustrating how one of the most promising prospects in the early 2020s and a Rookie of the Year finalist in 2024 has posted a 50 wRC+ so far in 2026.
This week, The Athletic suggested that the Yankees, in their quest for a catcher, could potentially look at Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler
Stephenson as an alternative. The soon-to-be-30 backstop has been an above-average hitter throughout his career with a 104 wRC+ and is at 92 in 2026. Stephenson has been connected to New York in rumors, but is he an option that the team should consider? Well, it’s not an easy answer.
The offensive floor seems to be significantly higher than Wells: his worst offensive season came in 2023, when he posted an 85 wRC+. He has been over 90 in every other year, and has cleared the 100-wRC+ threshold three times. It’s important to note that though Wells’ ceiling is as high as Stephenson or possibly even higher, the Reds’ catcher did have a 3.1-fWAR season back in 2024, when he homered 19 times and posted a 113 wRC+.
There are two main issues with Stephenson, though.
One is that he hasn’t really been great against left-handed pitchers this year, which is kind of the point of acquiring a platoon partner for Wells. Stephenson boasts a 70 wRC+ versus southpaws and a 99 mark against righties. In case you were wondering, the split for his career is 111 vs. lefties and 101 vs. righties, so his 2026 sample might be a bit fluke-ish. It’s a bit of a risk, but it could be one worth taking from that point of view, at least. The other situation regarding Stephenson, however, is more problematic and it has to do with his work behind the plate.
The Yankees value framing and solid defensive contributions from their catchers more than anything else, perhaps even more than offense itself. Stephenson, however, ranks in the first percentile in Framing Runs with -10. He is an amazing blocker behind the dish, but the framing is just abysmal. He is also not great at throwing out runners.
Of course, it helps that he’s such a good blocker, giving the pitching staff more confidence when the time comes to throw some breaking balls in the dirt. The overall package is not overly enticing, though, not defensively at least.
So, should the Yankees pursue Stephenson? It depends on how much defense they want to sacrifice in order to avoid the catcher spot being an offensive black hole. Knowing how the front office thinks and operates, however, the Reds’ veteran will probably not be their preferred choice. Another name connected to the Yankees, Ryan Jeffers, is also not a very solid defensive catcher, although he is an above-average framer. He is below-average everywhere else besides, well, offense.
Stephenson is a solid offensive player, and that has been the case for years. He isn’t the most consistent of hitters, but right now, he looks like prime Jorge Posada next to Wells. The two could complement each other well at the plate, but it all depends on how the Yankees view him defensively and if they think they can work with him to improve, not to mention on the organization meeting the Reds’ own valuation of Stephenson. It’s a distinct possibility, particularly if deals for Jeffers, Hunter Goodman, and Shea Langeliers don’t work out for one reason or another.
