Austin Wells was behind the plate for the Yankees for the first time Sunday since hitting the injured list with cervical headaches.
The catcher went 0-for-2 with a strikeout, but both Wells and manager Aaron Boone are confident that his ability to work on his approach at the plate while on a rehab stint with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre will be beneficial.
The Yankees hoped the time in the minors might serve as something of a “reset” for Wells, according to Boone.
Wells has continued to wear a one-piece face mask, which resembles a hockey goaltender’s mask, instead of the more traditional two-piece mask he’d worn throughout his career.
He made the switch shortly before being sidelined and used it in the minors.
While rehabbing, Wells said he took “one or two” foul balls off the helmet and noticed an improvement from his previous headgear.
He also hasn’t experienced any more headaches, which he hopes are behind him.
The Yankees certainly could use more offense from the catcher position, since Wells, J.C. Escarra and Ali Sánchez have mostly struggled.
Escarra was optioned to SWB after Saturday’s game, as the Yankees preferred to keep the righty-hitting Sánchez around with several left-handed pitchers lined up to face them in the coming week — including Framber Valdez and Tarik Skubal in Detroit.
Boone added that Sánchez and his wife are expecting, which could lead to Sánchez landing on the paternity list and a return of Escarra.
“Ali has earned some opportunities,’’ said Boone, who’s been impressed with Sánchez’s work on defense, as well.
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Gerrit Cole, originally scheduled to start Sunday, was pushed back to Monday in Detroit, as the Yankees looked to give their rotation a break in the middle of a 16-day stretch without an off day.
Cole has made five starts since returning from Tommy John surgery and said he feels good and the extra day was the team’s suggestion.
“It’s not that big a deal,” Cole said, adding it didn’t impact his preparation between starts.
The Yankees felt that with Cole, along with Carlos Rodón, coming back from elbow surgeries, and young pitchers like Cam Schlittler and Will Warren in the rotation, a break was beneficial.
The transition of Carlos Lagrange to the bullpen — at least for now — continued Sunday, with the right-hander tossing a scoreless inning for SWB. He hit 100 mph twice in the outing as the Yankees prepare him to pitch as a reliever for the rest of this season.
The Yankees have said they want him to be able to pitch on back-to-back days before bringing him to The Bronx, which he still hasn’t done, but it’s becoming clearer that Lagrange will likely be part of a new-look bullpen with the Yankees fairly soon.
Trent Grisham has been doing on-field agility drills, and Boone said he’s “encouraged” by how the center fielder is recovering from a right hamstring strain.
“Maybe a little surprised he’s moving as well as he is,” Boone said.
Without Grisham, they used José Caballero in center after some pinch-hitting moves in the bottom of the sixth, and he was slow to get to Spencer Steer’s grounder up the middle and then threw wildly, which allowed Steer to get to third.