The New York Yankees were swept in the American League Division Series this season and have some major holes to address in the offseason.
With a lockout looming, teams may be in a hurry to get free agents signed, as in 2022. Catcher is certainly a spot the Yankees need to look at, even though Austin Wells ended the season on a high note. He looked much better as a hitter in the final stretch of the regular season and was one of the few Yankees hitters who showed up in October.
There were reports that the Yankees tried to land a catcher at the trade deadline, and SNY's John Harper predicted they would sign Ryan Jeffers in free agency.
Jeffers is not great defensively, but he is one of the best offensive catchers in the game. He played in just 92 games last season, but had a .841 OPS. He has 82 home runs in his career and is a legitimate 20-homer threat.
He was one of the names the Yankees were linked to at the trade deadline and would be a massive upgrade over Wells. He ranked in the 88th percentile for walk rate and the 85th percentile for whiff rate. He has one of the highest rates of batted balls pulled in the air.
The Yankees have plenty of slug in other spots in their lineup, and could add a ton of slug at catcher with Jeffers.