If Brian Cashman had acted as most expected him to act at the trade deadline, Austin Wells would not have taken his second-inning at-bat.
Facing lefty Payton Tolle, this was a game reserved for a righty-hitting catcher. Maybe Ryan Jeffers, who might as well have been looking for a New York apartment considering the months of speculation.
Or maybe the switch-hitting Adley Rutschman, another potential Yankees target who was behind the plate Tuesday because he was redirected instead to the Red Sox, who overwhelmed the Orioles with their trade package.
But Cashman did not pull the trigger on finding another catcher, even a complement, and so Wells — who had been among the worst hitters in baseball at that point — only saw his stranglehold on the starting job strengthen.
That move — or rather lack of move — sure looked smart when Wells took that second-inning at-bat and drove in the only run the Yankees would need.
The Yankees’ starting catcher (and with all due respect to Ali Sánchez, their only catcher) breathed even more life into his revitalized season in the Yankees’ 9-0 statement of a victory over Boston in The Bronx to move one win from an ALDS date with the Rays.
Before the Yankees ran away late in the game, their offense had started with promise but only promise: Prior to Wells stepping up for his first at-bat, the club had gone 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and was threatening to waste another opportunity. In the frame, George Lombard Jr. opened with a single, moved to second on a one-out knock from Anthony Volpe and then watched as Spencer Jones fouled out for the second out.
But the lefty-hitting Wells — who batted .122 with a .436 OPS against southpaws this season — ripped a single through the right side of the infield and was fired up upon reaching first base after giving the Yankees a lead they only padded from there.
Wells added a second single off a lefty — Alec Gamboa in the seventh inning, plus a sacrifice fly in the eighth against Brayan Bello — to make it two hits off southpaws in the postseason, which is remarkable for a player who had 11 hits (in 99 plate appearances) against such pitching all season.
His inability against pitching of all types through the middle of July ensured the Yankees tested the trade market. Wells was hitting .152 with a .501 OPS on July 19. As much as they valued his rapport with pitchers and his defense, he had nearly become unplayable.
And yet Wells kept playing and showed enough in late July and early August to dissuade Cashman from overpaying in prospects. At a time when catchers typically are wearing down, in August and September, Wells posted his two best months of the year.
And even though the date read Sept. 29, he showed Tuesday why October may further his revival.
