Yankees’ backup catcher could be left off Wild Card series roster
The New York Yankees will play host to the Boston Red Sox this week for a three-game Wild Card series. The Yankees boast one of the deepest teams in the American League, but not all of their pieces will make the final roster for the Wild Card series.
Brendan Kuty of The Athletic noted that backup catcher J.C Escarra could be a candidate to be left off the roster. Escarra hasn’t appeared in a Major League game since Aug. 12, and is currently the Yankees’ third-string catcher behind Austin Wells and Ben Rice.
“It wouldn’t be outrageous to think the Yankees would carry a third catcher,” Kuty said. “Escarra is a better defender than Rice, and the Yankees might trust him more late and with a lead. But his inclusion seems unlikely. Rice has been good enough, and the Yankees might not want to take his bat out of the lineup once it’s in.”
Escarra has spent his rookie year in and out of the Majors. In 40 games this season, Escarra slashed .202/.296/.333 with two home runs and 11 RBIs.
The Yankees will take the next day to evaluate their roster decisions in a pivotal Wild Card series. New York struggled against the Red Sox this season, managing a 4-9 record against their storied rival, so they’ll need to figure it out now if they wish to advance to the ALDS.
Bears Make Bold Statement on D’Andre Swift Amid Struggles in the Run Game
The Chicago Bears have not established the run game as effectively as planned through the first four weeks of the 2025 regular season, but Bears head coach Ben Johnson is not pinning those shortcomings on veteran D’Andre Swift.
Swift struggled once again to generate consistent production in the run game for the Bears in Sunday’s 25-24 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, averaging fewer than 3 yards per carry for a second consecutive week and losing yardage on four of his 14 rushes.
According to ESPN’s Courtney Cronin, Swift also entered the game with a 35.7% success rate on his runs, which ranked 33rd out of 38 running backs with at least 20 carries.
When asked Monday about Swift and some of his unsuccessful red-zone carries against the Raiders, though, Johnson deflected blame away from his starter and toward other members of the offense that he feels are not “pulling their weight” — himself included.
“I don’t think our running struggles were a reflection of D’Andre Swift,” Johnson said. “I think he’s a guy that continues to run the ball very hard, even though the yards per carry aren’t where any of us want it to be right now. He’s as frustrated as anybody right now. He’s very prideful in what he can do and in what he brings to the table. And I don’t feel like everybody on offense yet is pulling their weight, and that’s myself included.”
D’Andre Swift on Pace to Hit Career-Lows for Bears
Johnson might be right that fixes in other spots on offense, such as up front on the line or out on the perimeter with the receivers, can help Swift become more productive for their offense. Through four weeks, though, Swift is on a career-low trajectory in 2025.
While Swift will likely have no trouble exceeding his career season low of 524 yards as long as he stays healthy and continues to see regular carries, he has averaged just 3.3 yards per carry through the first four games of the season, which would top last year’s career-low of 3.8 yards per carry on a career-high 253 carries for the Bears offense.
Swift has also been less productive as a pass-catcher despite remaining a regular part of the passing attack in Johnson’s new system. He has caught 13 of his 18 targets, but his yards per reception are down to 6.5 yards after he finished with a career-high 9.2 yards per reception in 2024. Some of that inefficiency is on quarterback Caleb Williams or the breakdowns in the protection, but Swift shoulders plenty of the blame himself, too.
Can Bears Solve Run Game Issues During Bye Week?
The Bears have several things to work on during their bye, but making the necessary adjustments in the run game could take priority on offense, given their struggles.
A big issue is that the Bears cannot seem to find a reliable change-of-pace option to play alongside Swift in their matchups. Rookie Kyle Monangai has given them a few good runs over the past three games, but he hasn’t been much more efficient than Swift in his limited reps. Meanwhile, Roschon Johnson has completely vanished from the offense, still waiting to take his first offensive snaps of 2025 and losing carries to D.J. Moore.
Perhaps the Bears will iron out a more consistent rotation coming out of the bye, but it still does not solve their problems with inefficiency. What’s more troubling is that there do not seem to be many issues with the run-blocking up front on the line, as the Bears rank second in the NFL in run-block win rate (76%), according to ESPN Analytics.
Could that ultimately push the Bears to consider options on the trade market? It is possible if they decide they need stronger personnel, even if they are more interested in finding a complementary back to run with Swift instead of an outright replacement.
