Yankees' Austin Wells out with cervical headaches in latest catching twist

Gary Phillips, New York Daily News on Jun 6, 2026

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

NEW YORK — The catching position has been full of surprises for the New York Yankees since late Friday night.

First, the Bombers optioned backup backstop J.C. Escarra to Triple-A after their series-opening loss to the Boston Red Sox. Then the team replaced Escarra by promoting journeyman Ali Sánchez early Saturday afternoon.

Just like that, the Yankees had a new big league catching contingent of Sánchez and Austin Wells.

But another twist came from the Yankees’ catching crew on Saturday night, as Wells was placed on the 10-day injured list with cervical headaches before rain postponed the club’s game against Boston. Suddenly in need of another receiver, Escarra was promptly recalled before he could ever leave New York.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, a cervical, or cervicogenic, headache “is head pain that originates in your neck. The pain can radiate from an injury or condition that affects your cervical spine, like an injury, arthritis or a slipped disk. Physical therapy and medications treat these headaches so you don’t have to live in pain.”

MSPhysicalTherapy adds that, “Whiplash injuries are a common cause of cervicogenic headaches. Car accidents or sports-related impacts can jolt the neck, damaging its delicate structures. Even seemingly minor incidents can trigger long-lasting pain.”

The site also said symptoms can include sensitivity to light and sound, blurred vision and mild nausea.

Catchers are particularly susceptible to “jolts of the neck,” as they can take foul balls and backswings to the head. With catchers always taking a beating, Aaron Boone said it was tough to say if Wells’ issue stemmed from Friday’s game, a previous game, or the cumulative result of multiple impacts to the catcher’s head/neck.

Boone, speaking after Saturday’s postponement, said that Wells first “complained about some neck stuff that was leading to a headache” late Friday night after Escarra had been optioned. On Thursday, Wells went through a “battery of tests” with a neurologist, which cleared him of a concussion, Boone said.

However, more tests on Wells’ neck await on Sunday. In the meantime, he’ll just rest.

“Hopefully it’s short,” Boone said of Wells’ absence. “That’s the expectation, but he’ll have testing tomorrow.”

Wells’ unexpected diagnosis comes with him in the midst of a dreadful season. While he’s been excellent behind the plate, Wells has been one of the worst hitters in baseball, batting .166 with a .533 OPS, four home runs and just seven RBI over 47 games.

His struggles have made the catching position an area of need prior to the trade deadline, though the Yankees have publicly maintained faith in the former Rookie of the Year finalist.

“I know we’re prisoners of the moment all the time,” Boone said during his pregame press conference on Saturday before Wells’ diagnosis was announced, “but there is a really good offensive player in there.”

Boone did not mention Wells’ headaches during his pregame presser, and he even said that the struggling left-handed hitter would get some off days against southpaws with the right-handed Sánchez promoted.

It wasn’t until well after the Yankees had concluded batting practice and pregame workouts that the team announced Wells had landed on the IL.

With Wells out, Sánchez and Escarra, another lefty, will now share time behind the plate.

Neither has done much offensively this season. Escarra, 31, has a .493 OPS over 68 major league plate appearances, while Sánchez has a .702 OPS over 40 Triple-A games. Sánchez, 29, had reverse splits at Triple-A, posting a .576 OPS vs. lefties and a .747 OPS against righties.

Sánchez, in big league camp with the Yanks this past spring, also has a .454 OPS over 50 MLB games with the Mets, Cardinals, Marlins, Blue Jays and Red Sox.

With the Yankees desperate for catching help even before Wells’ absence, the subject of Ben Rice receiving has come up repeatedly over the last few days. However, Brian Cashman said, “It’s not something that’s on the radar right now.”

Boone echoed those sentiments on Saturday, as the Yankees don’t want to do anything that could take a toll on the slugger’s bat.

“It doesn’t mean we won’t do it,” the manager said. “It doesn’t mean we won’t get to that point, but it’s not on the board right now.”

____