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Yankees tabbed as best landing spot for .949 OPS AL Central catcher

Nairavoice · Jun 12, 2026 · 2 min read

Yankees tabbed as best landing spot for .949 OPS AL Central catcher originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The New York Yankees are a club that’s clearly going to be active at the MLB trade deadline, and there are a few positions they’re likely to explore adding this summer.

Infield help would be huge, with Anthony Volpe and Ryan McMahon not being great starting options, and some extra bullpen help wouldn’t hurt either. But another key spot to explore is the catcher position.

Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report, with the catcher need in mind, named the Yankees as the best landing spot for an AL Central catcher who has a .949 OPS in Minnesota Twins veteran Ryan Jeffers.

Yankees named as the best landing spot for Ryan Jeffers trade

“Best Landing Spot: New York Yankees,” Rymer writes. “This, of course, is contingent on Ryan Jeffers making a timely and effective recovery from a broken hamate.”

While Jeffers might not be the cleanest trade option for the Yankees, due to his injury, that’s going to keep him out for a while, adding someone like a veteran catcher would be an ideal pickup for the Yankees.

Austin Wells hasn’t been nearly good enough for the Yankees this season, and adding Jeffers, who has a .949 OPS this season before his IL stint, would be ideal.

It’s a risk that’s worth taking from the Yankees’ perspective, especially since the catcher spot is currently a black hole in the lineup with Wells and their other backup options struggling too.

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Jeffers will be a free agent after the 2026 season, and coming off an injury, it shouldn’t be too expensive to acquire him in a trade.

When looking around MLB at the other potential catcher trade options, Jeffers is clearly the best and most realistic option for the Yankees this summer.

They’ve been linked often, and for good reason. Jeffers to the Yankees is the best landing spot for both the player and the team, as this would be a perfect match for a veteran catcher heading into free agency if he were to be traded.