Catcher BESIDES Ryan Jeffers Yankees Could Target At Trade Deadline

We're just under four weeks away from the trade deadline, so it's time to really start diving into what the Yankees might do by August 3rd at 6 p.m. One of the positions that is clearly an issue for the Yankees, as said by Brian Cashman on Thursday, and needs to be addressed is catcher. Yankees catchers have been terrible at the plate this season. They are second worst in average and on base, and last in slugging and OPS. The name that we've all heard the most that would be a good fit is Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers. Jeffers was having a good year before going on the I-L with a handmaid injury on May 18th, and is starting to work his way back, beginning his rehab assignment on July 3rd. He's a free agent at the end of the year, so he would only be a rental. What if Cashman isn't able to land him? Who else could they target? I don't think the Yankees would have to look too far to find a quality option B. They just have to take the 7 train over to Flushing, and there they'll find Luis Terrenz. Even our guy John Heyman thinks he can make sense in pinstripes. Maybe they will emphasize catcher. We've mentioned Jeffers on here many times. I do think that's the great fit for them. The Mets are going to sell. I think the Twins are a game and a half out of a playoff spot. I know. So maybe they need to go back and get Terrenz if they can get him. That's who I would go get, rather than Alvarez. The Yankees' interest would start with the familiarity they have with Terrenz. Terrenz started his career in 2012 when the Yankees signed him as a 16-year-old out of Venezuela before losing him in the 2016 Rule 5 draft. They're bouncing around six different organizations, and the Yankees signed him in 2024 to a minor league deal. He played 30 games in AAA Scranton before trading him to the Mets for $100,000. Since then, he's been a steady backup in Queens. I mention the familiarity being important because I've heard our guide Joel Sherman tell this story on Pinstripe Post and the show. After Brian Cashman traded for Pudge Rodriguez in 2008, he said he would never trade for a catcher midseason again because it's too hard to integrate a catcher. They have to learn all the pitchers and their individual game plans, which is even harder in today's game. Terrenz shortens that gap since he's been in the organization a couple times, just like you hear with Jeffers because of his time with Yankees catching instructor Tanner Swanson, who was with the Twins in 2017 to 2019. One step further with Terrenz' familiarity with the Yankees, he actually caught five Will Warren starts in 2024 while teammates in Scranton. Churro's numbers at the plate, yes, that is his nickname according to Baseball Reference, may not pop off the page, but compared to what the Yankees are running out behind the plate every night, it would certainly be an upgrade. One thing with the bat he does especially well is hitting in high leverage. If you talk to Mets fans, they will tell you that the guy is clutch, and the numbers back that up. In those high leverage situations, Terrenz has a .320 batting average. That'd be third on the Yankees, only Goldie and Spencer Jones have been better. His eight hits in high leverage would be sixth most on the Yankees, one more than Aaron Judge. All in .25 at bats, which would be tenth most. The defense is really what he would be adding to the team. He's one of the best defensive catchers in the game. Terrenz is eight for 21 throwing runners out, which is 38%, and puts him fifth among 74 qualified catchers. Just to compare to what the Yankees have been running out, Austin Wells is three for 21, so 14%, which puts him at 59th out of qualified catchers. He's also in the 95th percentile framing, 89th percentile pop time, and 71st percentile blocking. All of those are better than any of the three catchers the Yankees have deployed this season. Luis Terrenz would be a pretty good consolation if the Yankees aren't able to win the Ryan Jeffers sweepstakes.