Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

Austin Wells out until March: The bizarre workload story

Another injury?

Credit: Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

If there’s one thing Yankees fans have learned over the years, it’s that when a story sounds vague, it usually isn’t good news. Whether it’s an injury update that raises more questions than answers or an unexpected delay with little explanation, the team’s habit of keeping things cryptic has become a running theme.

And now, the Austin Wells situation might be one of the strangest yet.

So far this offseason, the Yankees have already dealt with unnecessary drama – Marcus Stroman trade rumors that could’ve been handled months ago, Giancarlo Stanton’s double elbow injury that suddenly put his Opening Day availability in doubt, and now, a situation with Austin Wells that forces you into conspiracy theories for no real reason other than past experience.

At the heart of it: Wells isn’t swinging the bat. But he’s also not injured.

Austin Wells isn’t swinging the bat, but he’s not injured either

On Saturday, Wells stepped into the batter’s box for two at-bats against new Yankees pitcher Max Fried. But he never took a swing. The next day, he clarified to reporters that he’s not injured – he’s just “not ready yet” after what he described as a long season and a short offseason due to the Yankees’ World Series run.

Austin Wells has been standing in against pitchers but isn't swinging the bat. Why? He says there's no injury issue.

"Just not ready yet. I was hitting higher speed stuff [off a machine] toward the end of this week. Just preparing for the games the week after they start. I…
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) February 16, 2025

“Just not ready yet. I was hitting higher-speed stuff [off a machine] toward the end of this week. Just preparing for the games the week after they start. I played late, so I’m taking it a little slower.”

Then, on Monday, Aaron Boone confirmed that Wells won’t play in any exhibition games until March 1.

“It’s just how much [he] played down the stretch and having never been down the stretch. He’s in a great spot, and he’s doing everything he needs to be ready. I’ve told him I want to slow-play it a little bit, so let’s move accordingly.”

Why this feels weird

There’s no question how important Wells is to the Yankees. As a rookie last season, he played 115 games, caught 872.1 innings, and established himself as a trusted receiver and elite framer while even holding down the cleanup spot for a stretch. His 13 homers, 55 RBIs, and .718 OPS helped him finish third in AL Rookie of the Year voting.

The Austin Wells situation is beyond bizarre pic.twitter.com/7ORVVvIDvI
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) February 19, 2025

So… how do you go from “heavy workload” to “not ready yet” with almost no clarity?

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Is he dealing with an injury the Yankees don’t want to disclose? Is he recovering from one? Is he just resting? Or is this simply another case of the Yankees making things sound more mysterious than they need to be?

With this team, you never really know. But only time will tell…

Austin Wells

Injury

Yankees

Mohsin Baldiwala

mlb

Mohsin Baldiwala is a Master’s student in Journalism and freelance content producer who got hooked on baseball through Seinfeld’s hapless George Costanza. The same reason why he’s a Yankees fan. He writes about sports because he believes it can offer a brief escape from the world’s chaos. Even if that means enduring the heartbreak of the 2024 World Series.