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The New York Yankees are on the brink of elimination after dropping Game 3 of the World Series and falling to a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 deficit against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Despite the series shifting to New York on Monday, the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in a game that wasn’t as close as the final 4-2 score indicates.
New York has struggled mightily at the plate, scoring a total of seven runs in the first three games of the series. Rookie catcher Austin Wells is one of many Yankees failing to produce. He was benched in favor of veteran Jose Trevino in Game 3. However, manager Aaron Boone is going back to Wells for New York’s do-or-die Game 4, per the Yankees official account on X.
Wells had an excellent rookie season for the Yankees in 2024. He was considered neck-and-neck with Baltimore Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser for AL Rookie of the Year honors. Unfortunately, the 25-year-old backstop is having a nightmare postseason.
In 12 postseason games, Wells is slashing .093/.152/.163. In the World Series, he’s 1-10 with no extra-base hits, no RBI, no runs scored, no walks and four strikeouts. Wells had been batting in the cleanup spot for New York in the ALDS and into the ALCS. But his immense struggles at the plate led the Yankees to move Giancarlo Stanton to cleanup and drop Wells in the batting order.
Austin Wells and the Yankees need to snap out of their funk
The first-year catcher has been batting eighth against the Dodgers. But Wells has continued to disappoint at the bottom of the order. Boone sent Trevino out to pinch-hit for Wells in the ninth inning of Game 2 and gave the seventh-year catcher the start on Monday.
The team will turn back to Wells for Game 4 – again in the eighth spot – as Boone and the Yankees attempt to shock the world with an unprecedented comeback. Working against that history-making rebound is the fact that presumptive league MVP Aaron Judge has been absolutely miserable in the World Series. Incredibly, the player who led all of baseball in nearly every meaningful offensive statistic during the regular season is just 1-12 with no home runs, RBI or runs scored in the Fall Classic. He’s struck out an astounding seven times, drawing a single walk. He's slashing .140/.278/.302 in 12 postseason games with 20 strikeouts.
MLB insider Ken Rosenthal called the Yankees' World Series effort embarrassing and said the team that won the American League Pennant is “not very good at baseball.” Based on New York’s first three games, the critique is valid.
The Yankees will attempt to avoid being swept by the Dodgers on Tuesday night in the Bronx. New York will send rookie pitcher Luis Gil to the mound with the season on the line. Boone has already said a Gerrit Cole start in Game 4 is out of the question.
