KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The most intriguing swings J.C. Escarra took last week never counted in a box score. They came from the wrong side of the plate.
The Yankees backup catcher has quietly begun a radical experiment. A natural left-handed hitter, Escarra has started taking five right-handed cuts in the batting cage before every game. He is toying with the idea of becoming a Yankees switch-hitter at age 31. It sounds like harmless warmup fun. For Austin Wells, it should sound like a warning.
Escarra explained the new Yankees routine before New York blanked the Royals 7-0 to finish a three-game sweep at Kauffman Stadium. He is not committed to anything yet. But the wheels are clearly turning.
“What I’ve been doing every time I get in the cage, my first round is kind of messing around, but I’ve been taking five swings righty every day,” Escarra said.
The idea was almost a joke at first. During a pregame chat with NJ.com, Escarra was teased that he should switch-hit to carve out more playing time. He pointed out that he does everything right-handed except swing a bat. He throws, golfs and writes with his right hand. The seed, planted in jest, took root with the Yankees backstop.
“Talking about it, I started thinking about it,” Escarra said. “I’m not committed yet, but it’s been on my mind some. We’ll see where it goes. All things are possible.”
His Yankees manager and hitting coach had no idea it was happening. Both learned of the experiment only when reporters asked them about it. Aaron Boone reacted with a mix of surprise and curiosity at the thought of a 31-year-old reinventing his swing.
“Wow!” Boone said. “Try it at 31 years old? I don’t know. I’ll have to check him out in there and see what I think. I didn’t even know about that. It’s intriguing.”
Hitting coach James Rowson was even more startled. He said his entire focus is on Escarra hitting left-handed this season, not on a winter project. Still, he did not slam the door.
“From my perspective, you hear that for the first time, I’ve got to see what J.C.’s thinking about,” Rowson said. “I’m solely locked in on him hitting left-handed right now for this year, but if he was serious about that, then it would be more of a conversation to see where it went.”
Why a cage drill threatens Wells behind the plate
Here is why this matters far beyond a quirky cage drill. Escarra and Wells both bat left-handed. That is the entire reason Escarra has been stuck as the Yankees backup, watching from the bench while Wells handles the bulk of the catching. If Escarra could hit right-handed, he would give the Yankees something they badly lack behind the plate. He would become a threat against left-handed pitching, and a direct challenge to Wells for the Yankees job.
The timing could not be sharper. Wells is mired in the worst slump of his young career. The 26-year-old entered the Royals sweep batting around .176 with just four home runs and seven RBI in 42 games. His OPS has cratered to roughly .579. That marks a drop of more than 120 points from his previous career low. He closed the sweep with two strikeouts in four at-bats.
The struggles have drawn loud backlash from Yankees fans. Social media has filled with calls to bench Wells, send him to Triple-A Scranton or trade for a catcher. Some Yankees supporters have argued his at-bats have become painful to watch. The pressure on the Yankees’ 2020 first-round pick is mounting by the day.
One fan observation cut to the core of the issue. The numbers showed Escarra owning a far better OPS against left-handed pitching this season than Wells, the Yankees starter who has long carried a sharp platoon split. The suggestion was simple. If the Yankees will not find a right-handed-hitting catcher, they should at least give Escarra more reps against lefties.
The data backs up the idea for the Yankees. Across two seasons, Escarra has hit .345 against lefties in a small sample of 29 at-bats. He has managed just .164 in 110 at-bats versus righties. Rowson pointed that split out to him directly. The two met at the cage and shared a laugh about it.
“James was telling me that I hit lefties better than righties, so I don’t know,” Escarra said. “He told me if I really wanted to do it, it would be something we’d have to work on in the offseason.”
A switch-hitting bid almost no one has ever made
What Escarra is chasing would be nearly impossible. Plenty of stars learned to switch-hit in the minors, including Hall of Famer Carlos Beltran and Gold Glove shortstop Omar Vizquel. Almost none have tried it after reaching the majors, and it is believed no one has ever pulled it off. Paul Blair gave it up in 1971 after batting .193 from the left side. Bob Dernier abandoned the attempt in 1983 after just two games.
Escarra knows the odds. He also knows his own path to the Yankees defies them. He spent eight years grinding through the minors, once playing independent ball for $200 a week while driving for Uber and substitute teaching to cover his mortgage. His wife once talked him out of quitting. He reached the majors with the Yankees at 30.
For now, his bat remains a work in progress from the left side. He is hitting .200 with seven RBI in 55 at-bats this season after a .202 mark last year. His best game came on Memorial Day, when he stroked three singles against the Royals. Boone insists the raw talent the Yankees saw is real.
Whether the switch-hitting dream ever materializes, the message to Wells is already clear. The Yankees are clearly searching for answers behind the plate. Escarra, in his own unconventional way, is volunteering to be one.
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