YANKEES HAVE INTEREST IN ANOTHER CATCHER

Oh to have a new catcher on this roster. What a nice thought, right? Because Austin Wells sucks and his .153 batting average isn't going to help fix anything. I'm just sick of thinking, talking, blogging about or watching him. I'd just like to dump him and be done with it.

The Yankees have this bad habit of falling in love with all of these guys that score well on their crazy evaluations. Then they get excited and dub him the guy for the job, the guy that helps lead the Yankees to the promise land of a championship. Then, it doesn't take long to see him not live up to their great expectations and he falters and the Yankees spend more time defending their screwup rather than fixing the problem.

We've been in the last stage for too long. He sucks, the Yankees defend him and he sucks sucking and we keep losing. Meanwhile, the Yankees are sniffing around for another catcher. The Yankees have been tied to Ryan Jeffers, and he would be a fine upgrade (anyone would honestly), but the Twins are a competitive team. They have a real chance to make the postseason, so the Twins moving Jeffers seems extremely unlikely.

And then there is Hunter Goodman. He's also someone that might be hard to move but for a different reason. The Rockies stink. They are 24 games back in their division and in last place. Keeping Goodman doesn't help them contend but it does allow the Rockies to build around him. He's under team control for the next three seasons. There's no real reason to get rid of him unless another team gives the Rockies something that they just can't refuse.

Which will be hard for the Yankees. They don't exactly have a ton of blue chip prospects to give up and the ones they do have, they don't want to. The Rockies are going to start by asking for George Lombard Jr, Dax Kilby, Elmer Rodriguez, and possibly even Ben Rice. It would be not be an "affordable" move for the Yankees. The Yankees would have quite a challenge to outbid other suitors (because there will be several) and have enough attractive chips to get it done. It certainly wouldn't be easy.

But boy is it necessary. He is everything Wells isn't. He's a tight handed bat and productive offensively and maybe not quite as good defensively but...who cares! He's not bad behind the plate and we need guys that can hit the ball. We need that idea of 'see the ball, hit the ball and put it in play,' and he can do that. Wells can't hit the broad side of a barn with the world's biggest bat. It's time to fix the problem that has been ignored for too long.

Wells needs to go....the Yankees need to pick a replacement. Pick anyone, seriously....choose the "eeny meeny miny moe" method for all I care but it's time to fix this wrong!

--Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj

URGENT TRADES NEEDED TO FIX BOONE'S YANKEES

Just over a week ago, the Yankees looked like they were cruising toward another division title. Fast forward seven straight losses, and they've transformed into baseball's most expensive slapstick comedy.

It's one thing to lose games. It's another to actively invent new ways to lose them every single night.

The Yankees have committed 17 errors in their last 12 games, turning routine outs into adventures and making opposing offenses look like the 1927 Yankees. Every ground ball has become an exercise in suspense. Every fly ball feels like a coin flip. Somewhere, the fundamentals packed their bags and entered the transfer portal.

And standing in the middle of this circus is Aaron Boone.

At some point, "the guys have to execute" stops being a valid excuse. Boone has managed this club for years, and the same problems continue to surface: sloppy defense, lifeless at-bats, questionable bullpen decisions, and a team that routinely looks unprepared in big moments. The Yankees don't simply lose games—they unravel them. That's a reflection of leadership.

Then there's the middle of the diamond.

Anthony Volpe continues to receive the kind of organizational patience usually reserved for Hall of Famers, despite producing nowhere near that level. June came and went with barely a pulse offensively, and while his defensive reputation remains solid in some circles, the mistakes continue to pile up. For a franchise that expects championships, the bar can't simply be "he's young." The Yankees need production, not perpetual potential.

Behind the plate, Austin Wells hasn't exactly made life easier.

The bat has gone ice cold, and what was once advertised as elite pitch framing has lost much of its value in the era of the automated ball-strike system. If the offense isn't there and the framing advantage has diminished, what exactly is separating Wells from dozens of replacement-level catchers?

The front office is rumored to finally be asking itself the same question.

It's becoming increasingly difficult to ignore trade possibilities. Hunter Goodman has emerged as one of the more intriguing offensive catchers in baseball, while Ryan Jeffers would immediately provide more thump than the Yankees are currently getting from the position. Neither player is perfect, but perfection isn't the goal anymore. Competence would be a significant upgrade.

Shortstop may require an even bolder solution.

With virtually no internal alternatives and Volpe failing to seize the job offensively, the Yankees may eventually have to explore bigger names. CJ Abrams represents the type of athletic, impact player who could completely change the complexion of the lineup, though other potential targets remain unavailable due to injuries or circumstances beyond New York's control.

Then there's the rotation.

If Brian Cashman truly believes this team is built to win now, why stop with complementary pieces? Tarik Skubal is the kind of ace who instantly changes a postseason series. Reports suggesting the Dodgers have cooled on pursuing him only make the possibility slightly more realistic for New York—assuming the Yankees are willing to pay the prospect price.

Of course, none of these moves will matter if the team continues to kick the ball around the field like it's spring training.

Seven straight losses.

Seventeen errors in twelve games.

An offense disappearing for innings at a time. A manager searching for answers he's had years to find. The Yankees don't have a talent problem. They have an accountability problem. Until that changes, every postgame press conference will sound the same, every loss will feel familiar, and every "championship caliber" conversation will become harder to take seriously.

For a franchise that measures success in World Series championships, playing fundamentally bad baseball isn't just disappointing. It's embarrassing.

CASHMAN'S BIGGEST PROBLEM ISN'T MISSING ON PLAYERS, IT'S REFUSING TO ADMIT IT

The Yankees don't have an Austin Wells problem.

They have a Brian Cashman problem.

Austin Wells is simply the latest example of a front office that falls in love with its own evaluations and refuses to let reality get in the way. Once Cashman decides a player is "the guy," the organization spends more time defending the decision than fixing the problem.

Wells has become Exhibit A.

Last season, fans were told to overlook a weak offensive season because his defense supposedly made him indispensable. Fine. But this year, the bat hasn't just regressed—it has disappeared. Nearly halfway through the season, Wells is hitting .164 with just nine RBI. He's been one of the least productive hitters in the lineup, yet he continues to get every opportunity imaginable.

How many more chances does he need?

The excuse has always been his excellent pitch framing. Yankees fans heard over and over that Wells was an elite receiver who stole strikes and saved runs. That argument doesn't carry the same weight anymore.

With ABS continuing to become part of Major League Baseball, framing is no longer the game-changing weapon it once was. If your biggest strength is becoming less valuable, then you'd better bring something else to the table.

Wells hasn't. Meanwhile, the Yankees continue pretending there's nothing to see here. That's the part that drives fans crazy. This organization has become obsessed with proving it's right instead of doing what's right.

Which brings us to Hunter Goodman.

Why are the Yankees acting like upgrading behind the plate is some impossible task?

Goodman is exactly the type of player this roster needs. He brings legitimate right-handed power, he's driving the baseball consistently, and he has been one of the most productive offensive catchers in the game this season. Put that bat in Yankee Stadium and suddenly the bottom of the order becomes a threat instead of a scheduled inning off for opposing pitchers.

Instead, the Yankees continue rolling out Wells and asking fans to believe tomorrow will somehow look different than yesterday.

That's become Brian Cashman's trademark.

Every obvious weakness somehow requires months of internal debate before action is taken. Every struggling player gets another chance. Then another. Then another. The front office talks about patience while fans watch games being handed away because the roster has glaring holes everyone can see.

Except, apparently, the people running the team.

Cashman deserves credit for many successful moves throughout his career. But he also deserves criticism when loyalty to his own evaluations blinds him to what's happening on the field. This front office has become too invested in winning the argument. Yankees fans don't care who wins the argument.

We care about winning championships.

The frustrating part is that solutions exist. Goodman represents one of them. He would give the Yankees a legitimate offensive upgrade at catcher, add much-needed right-handed thump to the lineup, and immediately put pressure on a position that has produced almost nothing offensively.

That's what good organizations do. They identify weaknesses and attack them. The Yankees identify weaknesses and explain them away.

At some point, Cashman has to stop treating criticism like a personal insult and start treating it like valuable feedback. The standings don't care about prospect pedigrees. Opposing pitchers don't care about draft position. And fans certainly don't care how highly the front office once rated a player.

They care whether he can produce. Right now, Austin Wells isn't.

And every day the Yankees refuse to address it is another day Brian Cashman is choosing pride over progress.

By the way, the Rockies will probably never give Hunter Goodman away.  But the Yankees need to try and find a stud to go behind the plate. Because right now we have a bunch of spare parts and nothing else... and it's all the fault of the front office.  Pathetic.