Austin Wells has not established himself as a reliable contributor on offense yet, and the New York Yankees could use an upgrade at catcher.
The Yankees reportedly explored catching upgrades at the trade deadline, but were unable to land anyone. However, one of their reported targets is now a free agent, and the Yankees need to go after him.
Ryan Jeffers was ultimately not moved by the Minnesota Twins at the trade deadline, but as a free agent, he is free to sign with any team. This season, Jeffers had an .814 OPS in 94 games. He hit 14 home runs and had a total of 35 extra-base hits.
Jeffers has a .753 career OPS and has played in 607 career games. He has been to the postseason twice, and on the Yankees, he could play on a true contender. In four seasons, Wells has a .697 OPS, but has been a steady defender.
Jeffers has not been a good defender recently, but he would be such an upgrade offensively that the Yankees may be willing to put up with it. However, the Yankees' defense as a whole is a concern, so perhaps they will be wary of adding a poor defender behind the plate.
At the same time, the offense completely disappeared in October, and efforts to improve need to be made. Surprisingly enough, Wells was one of the Yankees only hitters to perform well in the postseason. However, that is not enough to cover up four years of offensive woes.