New York catcher Austin Wells addressed reporters on Sunday after the Yankees placed the four-year veteran on the 10-day injured list Saturday with cervical headaches.
“I feel better already today, so I think it just needs a couple of days, let the brain catch up a little bit and get back to work,” Wells said. “I think in my mind, it’s just a cumulative buildup over the last couple of weeks, a month, whatever it is and just need to give it a couple of extra days to let it catch up.”
Manager Aaron Boone ruled out the possibility of a concussion on Saturday, when the Yankees moved Wells to the IL and recalled J.C. Escarra to take his spot on the roster.
Wells indicated the issue has been ongoing for some time, though he couldn’t pinpoint an exact time frame.
“There’s not a certain time that it kind of started, but a lot of pressure in the top of my head, some headaches,” he said. “So, I’ve been feeling it for a bit. I felt like it got to the point where I should say something.”
The 26-year-old has batted a career-worst .166 over 47 games this season, and his slugging percentage of .255 is a far cry from his career average of .398. He has just seven RBIs after knocking in 71 the year prior.
Despite that, he has remained New York’s primary man behind plate thanks to his defensive contributions, where Statcast has placed him in the 91st percentile for framing.
Escarra should platoon at the spot with Ali Sanchez, who was brought up from Triple-A earlier in the week. Sanchez was in the starting lineup for Saturday’s game that got rained out before starting Sunday in a 6-1 win against the Boston Red Sox.
Sanchez, 29, was 0-for-2 in that contest and is batting .180 in 122 career at-bats.
Escarra, 31, has a .177 batting average over 62 at-bats this year.
