Reports earlier in July indicated that J.C. Escarra was drawing trade interest, and Francys Romero writes that the Padres and Twins are two of the clubs most recently asking about the Yankees catcher. Escarra was optioned to Triple-A just today, leaving Austin Wells and Ben Rice as the catching options on New York’s active roster, and underlining the team’s depth at the position.
Escarra earned his first taste of MLB playing time by making the team out of Spring Training, and acting as Wells’ primary backup while Rice has seen more time at DH and first base than behind the plate. The backstop’s chief calling card has been his outstanding framing ability, even if his blocking and caught-stealing numbers leave much to be desired.
Escarra’s first 97 career plate appearances in the Show have seen him hit .205/.299/.337, with a .217 BABIP that is perhaps obscuring some better production. Though Escarra isn’t making much hard contact, he is making a lot of contact period, as he has almost as many walks (11) as strikeouts (14). His hitting record beyond the majors is inconsistent, but Escarrra hit well at the Triple-A level in 2024, and he got himself on the Yankees’ radar after crushing the ball in 2022-23 during stints in the independent leagues and in the Mexican League.
Given this journeyman background, Escarra is basically found money for the Yankees, so he may be expendable given the team’s other available catchers at both the MLB and minor league levels. Wells, Rice, and Escarra are the only catchers with any big league experience in the organization, though another veteran could be signed to a minors contract to provide some depth if Escarra did get moved.
The appeal is obvious for the Padres, whose cumulative -0.7 bWAR from the catching position is the lowest in the majors. With Elias Diaz and Martin Maldonado providing almost nothing, the Padres would have little to lose in seeing what Escarra can do with some regular playing time. San Diego has one of the lowest strikeout rates of any team in baseball, so Escarra’s high-contact ways are a fit with the Padres’ approach.
Diaz and Maldonado are both free agents after the season. The Twins have Ryan Jeffers arbitration-controlled through 2026 but Christian Vazquez is an impending free agent. Like with San Diego, Minnesota’s catching position has also been a weak link, with Jeffers, Vazquez, and (for one game) Mickey Gasper combining for 0.3 bWAR.
At age 30, Escarra may not exactly be a long-term prospect, but he is controllable through the 2030 season. Either the Padres or Twins could see the catcher as a fairly inexpensive upgrade to their needs behind the plate both this year and in the future. The Twins are in seller mode, and such players as Willi Castro, Harrison Bader, Griffin Jax, and Danny Coulombe have been linked to New York in recent rumors. It isn’t known if these Minnesota players could still be on the radar or not, as the Yankees’ acquisitions of Amed Rosario and Austin Slater specifically might’ve made Castro or Bader redundant.
Yankees need pen pieces
Padres need a catcher
A deal involving Suarez and Escarra feels right
Possibly Cam Schlitter, Escarra, Everson Pereira, and Jesus Rodriguez. Their 5th, 13th, and 26th ranked prospects.
@69 – Come on now. Four prospects for a rental reliever?
Three and a 30 year old catcher
@69 – I stand corrected. It’s still a lot for Suarez.
Suarez is sure to deny the two player options for 2026 & 2027 for free agency this off-season. But if Suarez were to get hurt, he’d exercise the option (s). That’s a risk to consider.
Prellar is interested in everyone, including Tom Brady’s ex Giselle Bundchen, your sister and the silver haired lady that sometimes appears on “Shark Tank.”
Escarra is crap. NY fans think we are desperate. Padres will ride with their catchers if it isn’t a major upgrade mid season. Preller will let anything go to keep us in the news, as he should. But this is stupid..The media with an agenda use this as an easy button.
@DasUno – Where exactly are NY fans thinking SD is desperate? A reporter noted that the Padres and Twins had interest in Escarra.
It wasn’t a typical homer proposal of Escarra for Tatis.
Escarra is a Quadruple-A guy who will help someone out who needs depth or has no reasonably better options and could some how max out his potential over a few middling seasons.
**Think like Yangervis Solarte or someone of that calibre.
Also, way to release this in the middle of the night for the east coast crowd to wake up to in the morning. Tools.
Dylan Cease for Escarra
Escarra’s framing ability is elite! And he’s a random winter league batting champ!
Trades of Feduccia and Fortes should be pretty good comparisons of what to expect, I’d think
Come on, another Mendoza level hitter, pass.
I’d rather see SD give Campy “regular at bats” to see what he can do before they totally forget him. At least he is hitting at AAA. Why get a guy that can’t block or stop runners and can’t hit when you already have a poor defense prospect sitting in AAA for free?
At least Campy has shown the ability to hit mlb pitching for brief stints in the past.
Maldonado is hitting 385, Diaz 275, over their last 15 games. Only 2 catchers in the NL are hitting better than 240 this season, and those that are available in trade much much worse. What’s the problem here?
Preller is always obsessed with catchers.
I thought it was RPs and SSs?
If the Padres want a catcher they can have Connor Wong. He just needs a change of scenery to get back track. Before you criticize he was the starter until he got hurt and Carlos Narvaez began to play out his mind. You want to get rid of the Suarez contract. I’m sure the Red Sox would take seeing they may have the better chance of resigning him. You can throw a prospect in the deal from the Sox being the Padres have nothing to trade seing their minor league prospects have been gutted. All they have left is a catcher with a bad back not a good combination.
Huge trades by Yankees! What a joke.
Escarra is a nice story, but thats about it, if they can get value in return for him, they should do it immediately.
Wait, Rice isn’t a full-fledged catcher. They can’t go in a pennant race with a catcher and a half. They’re going to continue to look.This isn’t an offense that needs Johnny Bench when Judge gets back.