What Austin Wells injury means for Yankees plan with top catching prospect

This was supposed to be Austin Wells’ year to appear in the big leagues in a Yankees uniform. While it may not have been right out of camp, the Bombers’ No. 4 prospect was projected to make it to the major leagues at some point this season.

Now the timeline for his MLB call-up could be delayed due to the fractured 12th rib, and it may impact the amount of meaningful playing time he gets this season. Wells will miss the rest of spring training with the injury and won’t be ready to return to play in the minors until sometime in April if his recovery goes according to plan.

It was an issue that had been bothering Wells since the first day of camp and the Yankees originally called it a bruised rib. Wells was originally progressing until he started to feel more discomfort as he was ramping back up.

“He was actually getting closer to really starting to ramp up some baseball activities and then he felt something again literally as he was on the table getting worked on,” Aaron Boone told reporters in Tampa on Wednesday, according to NJ.com.

Given that Wells is a catcher, a fractured rib is a difficult injury to overcome. In addition to the normal torque of a baseball swing, Wells has to be prepared to not only squat behind the plate but also block pitches in the dirt, which could lead to direct contact with his ribs. The Yankees will obviously want to make sure he can do all of that without any pain before getting him back into game action.

Wells can, and likely will, still make his debut in the MLB this season, but the timeline is surely pushed back. What could have been a call-up in the middle of the year, probably won’t be until near the end of the season as the team looks to see if he can be the starting catcher for 2024.

The Yankees’ top catching prospect and 2020 first-round pick was likely going to begin the year in Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after ending last year with 55 games at Double-A Somerset. Wells hit .277 with 20 home runs and a .897 OPS in 92 games across three levels of the minor league system.

He was expected to get more playing time in spring training as well with Kyle Higashioka headed for the World Baseball Classic and Ben Rortvedt underdoing shoulder surgery, but the injury has thrown a wrench in that plan. Once Wells is ready to go he’ll most likely rehab with the Low-A Tampa Tarpons.

Breakout star Jose Trevino and Higashioka are both in the final year of their contracts. While both have played well during their time in the Bronx — Trevino made the first all-star appearance of his career last season — neither is necessarily the long-term solution for the Yankees at catcher, so this is something of a transition year behind the plate.

The plan is still for Wells to prove himself as the long-term answer in New York, but the timeline for figuring out if that’s a reality of not will be pushed back depending on how long it takes for Wells to heal.