Yankees’ Austin Wells Sends 2-Word Ben Rice Message After Harsh Move
The New York Yankees seemed to unlock something at the plate on Tuesday, slugging nine home runs against the Tampa Bay Rays for the win.
The barrage made history as the Yankees became the first ever team to record multiple games with nine or more home runs. But a key player might be hoping at least one aspect of the win isn’t a lasting sign of things to come.
It was the second lineup in a row that featured young slugger Ben Rice at the catcher spot, with Austin Wells increasingly pushed to the side amid a slump at the plate.
“This made it six benchings in the Yankees’ last nine games for Wells, who is hitting in the low .200s with Rice still crushing balls and now also showing that he’s very capable of being a big leaguer at his natural position, catcher,” Randy Miller wrote for NJ.com.
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After emerging as a key part of the Yankees batting order with Rice mostly relegated to a designated hitter role to start the season, Wells has been seemingly replaced as the everyday catcher. Rice is also capable of playing first base, but the Bombers have slotted Paul Goldschmidt there for the most part, with Aaron Judge taking over as the designated hitter while dealing with an injury.
As a result, Wells has been the odd man out. But when asked about the switch, he broke his silence by praising the teammate who has replaced him.
“He’s raking,” Wells said of Rice, per Miller.
“If this is what they think is going to help the team in this moment, then that’s what’s going to help the team,” Wells added of the change. “If that’s what we’re gonna do, I’m going to support Ben in any way that I can. And at the same time, I’m trying to get better every single day so I can do the same thing as Ben when it’s my turn again.”
Based on that reaction, it seems Wells is taking the demotion as well as one could expect. But if Rice continues to produce in the catcher position, it could mean that Wells is more permanently out of a job with the Yankees, either this season or next.
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