Austin Wells is not exactly sure when it all began, or that there was any one incident that caused it.
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But by late Friday night, the Yankees catcher decided it was finally time to let the training staff know about the pressure in the top of his head and headaches he had been dealing with “for a bit,” which ultimately led to him landing on the 10-day injured list Saturday.
“I think it just needs a couple days, let the brain catch up a little bit and get back to work,” Wells said Sunday after the Yankees’ 6-1 win over the Red Sox in The Bronx.
Wells is set to undergo an MRI on Monday to try to rule out anything more serious going on — particularly in his neck — though he tested negative for a concussion Saturday.
Austin Wells reacts after striking out during the Yankees’ May 20 game against the Blue Jays. Corey Sipkin for the NY Post
“In my mind, it’s just the cumulative buildup over the last couple weeks, month, whatever it is,” he said. “When you’re in it every day, you don’t really realize, but being out of it today, I felt better today already.”
Wells, who has struggled badly at the plate for most of the season, said getting beat up behind the plate is “part of the position, honestly.”
But he decided to use a hockey mask for Friday’s game — on the advice of another catcher he spoke to who had also gotten banged up — which he said felt sturdier.
He plans to keep using it once he returns.
“Whatever was going on this year wasn’t really working, so try everything,” Wells said.
In the meantime, Ali Sánchez made his Yankees debut behind the plate Sunday, going 0-for-2 before being pinch hit for by Spencer Jones in the seventh inning.
Aaron Boone said that J.C. Escarra is likely to start two of the next three games against the Guardians, but the manager is treating the position day to day.
Boone said it is “possible” that Jasson Domínguez (AC joint sprain) could rejoin the Yankees on their upcoming road trip, as the outfielder played a second rehab game Sunday and is expected to need at least a few more early this week.
Domínguez started in left field Sunday for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, though the Yankees’ need is in right field with Aaron Judge expected to miss two-plus months with a stress fracture in his right first rib.
The Yankees may just move Cody Bellinger to right once Domínguez returns, though Bellinger has been the best defensive left fielder in the majors this season, which is part of the reason why they have at least kicked around the idea of Domínguez playing right field (which he has for one game in his entire pro career).
“We’ll see how that unfolds,” Boone said. “It would be kind of tough, just because we’ve poured so much into Jasson and committing to left field. Little bit of a challenge. But it is something we’ve talked about.”
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Boone was noncommittal on whether Domínguez would get any right field action during his rehab assignment.
Max Fried is set to undergo his next round of imaging later this week to determine whether he can advance to throwing from the mound.
For now, the left-hander has been playing catch on flat ground, expected to get out to 120 feet this week as he tries to work back from a bone bruise in his left elbow.
“He’s responded pretty well to everything,” Boone said.
Anthony Seigler, the Yankees’ first-round pick in 2018, started at second base Sunday for the Red Sox.
Their 27th-round pick that year, Mickey Gasper, was starting at catcher for the Red Sox.
The only Yankees pick from that draft who is currently in the organization is Wells, their 35th-round pick who did not sign out of high school.
They drafted him again two years later in the first round.
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