J.C. Escarra emerging as Yankees’ latest success story at catcher

There are former Yankee catchers thriving in a handful of spots around the league, from Luis Torrens with the Mets to Carlos Narváez in Boston. 

Agustín Ramírez has shown promise with the Marlins and veteran Jose Trevino is having a resurgent year with the Reds. 

All of those backstops have been dealt in the past year or so by the Yankees, who are now using J.C. Escarra as Austin Wells’ primary backup, with Ben Rice filling in as well now that Giancarlo Stanton is back in the DH spot. 

Escarra impressed again in Saturday’s 9-0 rout of the Orioles in The Bronx, as the lefty-swinging catcher not only hit his second homer of the season — this one into the second deck in right field — but also guided Clarke Schmidt through seven no-hit innings. 

Asked which accomplishment he was more excited about, Escarra said, “Both.’’ 

J.C. Escarra hits a home run during the Yankees-Orioles game on June 21, 2025. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“It was a great day for J.C.,” Aaron Boone said. “He’s been terrific all season for us behind the plate and we know what kind of hitter he is.” 

Escarra homered off Zach Eflin in the second inning, hit a sacrifice fly in the third, reached on an error in the fifth on a ball smoked at 106 mph that was muffed by second baseman Jackson Holliday, and added an RBI single in the sixth. 

“He’s capable of that,” Boone said of Escarra’s offense. “He had good at-bats today … [and] helped set the tone with the home run.” 

With Wells, Escarra and Rice all hitting from the left side, there’s no perfect way to split playing time. 

Boone, when asked how the team would handle playing time with Rice’s role behind the plate likely increasing, said, “We’ll see. Keep pushing.” 

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But Escarra certainly has given the Yankees reason to get him in the lineup, as he was one of a handful of left-handed hitters who made Eflin’s life miserable Saturday, forcing him out of the game after three innings. 

J.C. Escarra (L.) talks with Clarke Schmidt during the Yankees-Orioles game on June 21, 2025. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Escarra has proven to be an excellent pitch framer and pitchers entered Saturday with a combined 2.79 ERA with him as their battery-mate this year. 

And that was before Schmidt extended his scoreless streak to a career-high 25 ¹/₃ innings. 

Escarra said he didn’t notice Schmidt’s no-hit bid until the sixth or seventh inning. 

“I didn’t look at the [scoreboard] because I was so focused on the game, but you notice things and thoughts creep into your head,’’ Escarra said of Schmidt potentially getting the no-hitter. 

But Schmidt’s pitch count — 103 through seven innings — prevented any chance of that happening, which was about the only disappointment for Escarra and the Yankees against Baltimore.