Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed Wednesday that Wells (rib) will be sidelined for at least 6-to-8 weeks, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.
Wells suffered a fractured 12th rib in mid-February, and it's going to cost him the remainder of spring training along with the first couple weeks of the 2023 season. The young catcher has put up intriguing offensive numbers throughout the minor leagues, and he'll likely head back to Double-A Somerset to begin the upcoming season whenever he's deemed fit for live competition.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Recovering from fractured rib
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Wells confirmed Wednesday that he's been dealing with a fractured 12th rib, Marly Rivera of ESPN.com reports. He'll be held out of baseball activities for the next 7-to-10 days before the Yankees reassess his injury.
Wells had been shut down during the first week of camp with what was reported as a bone bruise to the right side of his ribs, but follow-up tests evidently revealed a fracture. According to Rivera, fractured ribs typically require a 6-to-8-week healing timeframe, so even if Wells is able to resume activities at some point next week, he still looks unlikely to be ready to go for the start of the minor-league season. The catching prospect finished the 2022 campaign at Double-A Somerset, logging 247 plate appearances in the Eastern League and slashing .261/.360/.479 with 12 home runs and seven stolen bases.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Ramping up slowly
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Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that Wells (rib) has been limited to light baseball activities in recent days and isn't "there yet" when it comes to being ready to make his Grapefruit League debut, MLB.com reports. "He's getting closer, but it's been a slow improvement," Boone said. "We don't want to mess with it and have a setback when it's not fully healed."
The Yankees appear content to take things slowly this spring with the 23-year-old catching prospect, who sustained a bone bruise to his right rib cage while warming up for a Feb. 15 workout. Based on Boone's comments, Wells is likely a week or more away from entering the Grapefruit League lineup, but the backstop should still have a chance at being ready to go for the start of the minor-league season.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Resumes workouts
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Wells (rib) returned to workouts Tuesday, Marly Rivera of ESPN.com reports.
Wells reported to camp with a bruised rib but has evidently been cleared to go through drills. The top prospect is expected to begin the season at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Nursing bruised rib
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Wells is currently shut down from baseball activities due to a bruised rib, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.
It's not clear at this point how Wells suffered the injury or how long he might be sidelined. The 23-year-old collected an .897 OPS with 20 home runs and 16 stolen bases across three levels in the minors last season. Wells will begin 2023 back in the minors but could push to debut at some point this season.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Heating up in Double-A
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Wells has gone 6-for-16 (.375) with two homers, seven RBI and a steal across his last four games for Double-A Somerset.
Overall, Wells has put up good-but-not-great stats in Double-A to this point, posting a .259/.346/.441 line with seven home runs and two steals across 36 games. He performed far better in the lower minors, putting up a .950 OPS in Single-A and a 1.004 mark in High-A, and it seems like his bat may now be heating back up in Double-A after he slumped through much of August (.169/.279/.288 in the first 15 games of the month).
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Makes jump to Double-A
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The Yankees promoted Wells from Single-A Tampa to Double-A Somerset on Tuesday.
Wells opened the season at High-A Hudson Valley, but he's made his last nine appearances with Tampa after the Yankees opted to keep him with the affiliate following the conclusion of his rehab assignment for a groin injury that kept him sidelined for about five weeks. Between the two affiliates, Wells slashed .304/.425/.568, and he'll now make a two-level jump as he joins Somerset in the aftermath of fellow catching prospect Josh Breaux receiving a promotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Though Wells' bat should eventually allow him to get a look in the big leagues down the road, he needs more defensive polish and could be moved off the catcher position if he doesn't show more improvement behind the dish in the higher levels of the minors.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Reinstated from injured list
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Wells (groin) was reinstated from the 7-day injured list and transferred to Single-A Tampa on Friday, Matt Kardos of MLB.com reports.
Wells began the 2022 season at High-A Hudson Valley and slashed .323/.429/.576 with six homers, 21 runs, 16 RBI and nine stolen bases. However, he'll head to Tampa for the minor-league equivalent of a rehab assignment after spending just over a month on the injured list due to a right groin injury.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Still out with groin injury
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Wells is sidelined at High-A Hudson Valley with a groin injury, Baseball America reports.
He took a foul tip to his right groin area while catching against Brooklyn on May 17 and has not returned. Wells was due for a promotion prior to the injury, having hit .323/.429/.576 with six home runs and a 22.7 K% in 28 games.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Placed on injured list
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Wells was placed on the 7-day minor-league injured list for an undisclosed reason Wednesday, Conor Foley of The Scranton Times-Tribune reports.
Wells got off to a hot start at High-A Hudson Valley this year, slashing .323/.429/.576 with six home runs, seven doubles, 21 runs, 16 RBI and nine runs. While the nature of his injury isn't yet clear, he'll be forced to spend at least a week on the shelf.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Warming up in High-A
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Wells has gone 10-for-30 (.333) with a homer, a double and a triple across his last seven games for High-A Hudson Valley.
Wells went 1-for-12 in the first three games after his promotion to High-A, but he seems to be acclimating pretty quickly now. However, after putting up a 51:62 BB:K in Low-A, he's at just 3:15 so far for Hudson Valley. That's something for him to work on, but Wells has a highly intriguing bat regardless of what position he eventually lands at. He certainly hasn't shown very well behind the dish, committing 11 passed balls while throwing out just 11.8 percent of base stealers, so it seems likely that the Yankees will look to find him a new position eventually.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Productive in Low-A ball
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Wells is hitting .271/.392/.464 with five home runs, seven steals, 39 RBI and 39 runs across 42 games for Low-A Tampa.
As a first-round pick from last year, this season marks Wells' debut in pro ball. The most notable part of his stat line so far is that he's shown an excellent approach at the plate with a 31:45 BB:K, and sustaining that will be key as he moves up the ladder in the Yankees' organization. Wells also isn't widely expected to stick at catcher, as his bat is his calling card.
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Yankees' Austin Wells: Off to hot start in minors
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Wells has gone 4-for-9 with a home run, five RBI, five runs and a stolen base through two games with Low-A Tampa.
The first-round pick in the 2020 first-year player draft is kicking off his professional career in Low-A ball, but he could rise through the system quickly if he continues at his current torrid pace. There is little doubt that Wells' bat will play in the big leagues, so his timeframe for reaching the majors could depend on how quickly he develops defensively.
