New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells spoke with the media Sunday following his placement on the 10-day injured list due to cervical headaches, a move the team made on Saturday.
“I feel better already today, so I think it just needs a couple of days, let the brain catch up a little bit and get back to work,” Wells said. “I think in my mind, it’s just a cumulative buildup over the last couple of weeks, a month, whatever it is and just need to give it a couple of extra days to let it catch up.”
On Saturday, Manager Aaron Boone dismissed the possibility that Wells suffered a concussion when the team transferred him to the injured list and brought up J.C. Escarra as his replacement on the roster.
Wells suggested the problem has persisted for an extended period, although he was unable to identify a specific timeline for when it began.
“There’s not a certain time that it kind of started, but a lot of pressure in the top of my head, some headaches,” he said. “So, I’ve been feeling it for a bit. I felt like it got to the point where I should say something.”
The 26-year-old has struggled offensively this season, posting a career-low .166 batting average across 47 games, while his slugging percentage of .255 falls well short of his career mark of .398. His seven RBIs this year pale in comparison to the 71 he drove in during the previous season.
Nevertheless, Wells has continued as New York’s starting catcher due to his strong defensive play, with Statcast ranking him in the 91st percentile for pitch framing.
Escarra is expected to share catching duties with Ali Sanchez, who joined the team from Triple-A earlier this week. Sanchez started Saturday’s contest that was postponed due to rain and was behind the plate Sunday during a 6-1 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
Sanchez, 29, went hitless in two at-bats during Sunday’s game and carries a .180 batting average in 122 career plate appearances.
Escarra, 31, is hitting .177 in 62 at-bats this season.
