Yankees sign veteran catcher to minor league deal as search for big league help continues

Gary Phillips, New York Daily News on Jul 28, 2026

Published in Baseball

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NEW YORK — The New York Yankees finally added a catcher on Tuesday … via a minor league contract.

The team signed veteran backstop Christian Bethancourt and assigned him to Triple-A before beating the White Sox, 3-2, in Chicago. The move shouldn’t have any impact on the Yankees’ pursuit of a righty-swinging catcher prior to the Aug. 3 trade deadline, though options appear limited for them and a handful of other needy clubs.

While Bethancourt is a right-handed hitter, he’s ideally just another experienced Triple-A depth catcher for the Yankees alongside J.C. Escarra, a lefty. That depth could prove useful down the road since big league backup Ali Sánchez is out of minor league options.

Sánchez, a right-handed hitter who crushed the first homer of his career in Tuesday’s win, would likely be forced out if the Yankees trade for a catcher to pair with the lefty-swinging Austin Wells.

Bethancourt has played in parts of eight big league seasons with the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Marlins and Chicago Cubs, but he hasn’t appeared in an MLB game since 2024. He had a .775 OPS (.783 vs. righties, .736 vs. lefties) over 59 games for the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate this year.

With some depth in place, the Yankees will try to find an impact catcher before Monday’s deadline. The division rival Rays and Boston Red Sox are also in the market for a catcher, as are the upstart White Sox and back-to-back champion Los Angeles Dodgers, among others.

Meanwhile, it’s unclear how many quality catchers will be moved. The Twins’ Ryan Jeffers is of strong interest to the Yankees, but they’ll have competition for the impending free agent if Minnesota, in the wild-card race, decides to move him.

Prying Hunter Goodman away from the Colorado Rockies would require a significant return since he has three more years of control, and there are concerns about the power hitter’s defense that would make him an atypical fit for the Yankees.

The Cincinnati Reds’ Tyler Stephenson is also a flawed defender, but he could be a platoon option with Wells. The New York Mets’ Luis Torrens, who has experience in the Yankees’ system, also makes sense in a lesser role.

Wells, meanwhile, is expected to keep playing a big part regardless of who the Yankees bring in at the trade deadline. The organization still believes there’s more in his bat despite him being one of baseball’s worst hitters this season, and the Yankees value his work behind the plate and with their pitching staff tremendously.

Wells, who went 0 for 4 with a strikeout on Tuesday, is a top-10 framer, and Yankees pitchers led the majors in ERA heading into Tuesday.

Schu chops Sox

Max Schuemann had the biggest hit of the Yankees’ win on Tuesday, chopping a two-run RBI double over the head of White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas in the second inning. Anthony Volpe was one of the runners who scored on the play. He had an RBI double earlier in the inning.

Schuemann, expected to play more with Cody Bellinger on the injured list, is only hitting .212 after going 1 for 2, but the utilityman has a .752 OPS and has continued to make the most of his opportunities at the plate.

On the mound, Gerrit Cole grinded through six scoreless innings. He also tallied four hits, two walks and seven strikeouts over 99 pitches.

David Bednar, pitching for the fourth time in five games, allowed a two-out, two-run homer to Chase Meidroth in the ninth. Those were the first runs allowed by Bednar since May 18, but he bounced back with a game-ending strikeout.

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