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By Jon Paul Hoornstra
Contributing Sports Writer
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Sometimes, it's the trades you don't make that pay off the most in the end.
When the New York Yankees' front office assessed their team's needs as the Aug. 3 trade deadline approached, catcher figured to be at or near the top of the list.
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Their starting catcher, Austin Wells, had a .155 batting average and five home runs at the All-Star break in July. His backups offered little by way of offense. There was no hot-hitting catching prospect at Triple-A and, even if there were, a team with World Series ambitions was unlikely to trust him with their pitching staff in a midseason shakeup.
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A trade made sense. Veteran Tyler Stephenson, a sixth-year veteran hitting capably for the Cincinnati Reds, was a sensible target. Stephenson had a .261/.337/.424 slash line (104 OPS+) from 2021-25, and was putting up monster numbers (.339/.414/.532) in July.
Yet, according to a new report, the Yankees never engaged the Reds about a possible trade.
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"A number of teams needed catching, but the Reds did not receive what they viewed as a sufficient offer for Tyler Stephenson, who ranks as one of the game’s worst framers," Ken Rosenthal and C. Trent Rosecrans reported Thursday, Sept. 24 in The Athletic. "The New York Yankees declined to even show interest in Stephenson, fearing his framing would negatively impact their pitching, sources said."
Stephenson stayed put, and so did Wells. Since the deadline, he's slashing a respectable .230/.328/.425 (113 wRC+) with six home runs — a tick above his production from 2024-25.
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Framing — the ability to consistently turn borderline pitches into strikes — has been an important facet of catching since umpires first called strikes and balls. In theory, it's a little less important when a team can challenge any call, turning a ball into a strike if Hawk-Eye's cameras contradict the call on the field. The "automated ball-strike challenge system" was approved by MLB a year ago for use in the 2026 season.
For the Yankees, however, framing still matters quite a bit. Stephenson has cost the Reds an estimated nine runs this year via framing, per Statcast. That was a risk the Bronx Bombers weren't willing to take.
For now at least, that looks like the right call. Despite losing Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton to injuries for most of the season, the Yankees are 91-67 through Wednesday, and have clinched the top American League wild-card berth.
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