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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Yankees manager makes feelings clear on Austin Wells.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n New York Yankees<\/a> manager Aaron Boone has sent a stern message to Austin Wells ahead of the New York Mets series.<\/p>\n Wells is the Yankees\u2019 starting catcher, but he has struggled this season, and Boone wants more from him.<\/p>\n \u201cI expect there to be more in there,\u201d Boone said<\/a> about Wells. \u201cI feel like he\u2019s capable of more. It\u2019s been a little bit of a struggle. I feel like he\u2019s had, for the most part, some pretty steady at-bats against right-handed pitching. I like the fact that he is walking a little bit, but he\u2019s capable of more.\u201d<\/p>\n Wells was an impact hitter for the Yankees last season, but this year, the veteran catcher has struggled, and Boone has now called him out.<\/p>\n Wells is hitting .180 with 3 home runs and 5 RBIs in 100 at-bats<\/a>, as his bat has gone cold this season. Last season, he hit .219 with 21 home runs and 71 RBIs, showing there is more power in the bat that Wells isn\u2019t showing this season.<\/p>\n Although Wells is struggling at the plate, so too is backup catcher J.C. Escarra, who\u2019s hitting .182 with just 6 RBIs as he has 8 hits in 44 at-bats.<\/p>\n Although Wells has struggled at the plate, his defensive game has gotten better.<\/p>\n Wells has improved defensively, which he said was a goal, as he knows he wasn\u2019t a good catcher by MLB<\/a> standards.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew I wasn\u2019t good, per se, but I knew that the work that I was doing was going to end up where I needed to be,\u201d Wells said<\/a>. \u201cAnd that I\u2019d continue to do that work to get where I wanted to be in the end. I think the more experience that I\u2019ve gotten, and the easier that it comes, the more that I realize that what I was doing before isn\u2019t even close to the level that I am now.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Wells is a much better defensive catcher, his offense has taken a hit this season, and Boone and the Yankees want more from him.<\/p>\n New York, meanwhile, will begin a three-game road series against the Mets on Friday as part of the Subway Series.<\/p>\n Although the Mets got off to a bad start, New York has started to play better, and Aaron Judge admits he isn\u2019t sure why they were bad to begin the year.<\/p>\n \u201cI really don\u2019t understand it,\u201d Judge said of the Mets\u2019 struggles. \u201cThey\u2019ve got a great manager with (Carlos Mendoza) over there. They\u2019ve got a great lineup, a great pitching staff. It\u2019s baseball. \u2026 You can\u2019t really judge a team off of six weeks of the season. If you did that, you could take six weeks that we\u2019re struggling and say we\u2019re the worst team out there. They\u2019ve got a good ball club over there.\u201d<\/p>\n The Yankees, meanwhile, are looking to get back on track after a disappointing road trip.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a tough road trip,\u201d Judge said. \u201cYou\u2019re gonna have two or three of those during the year. It\u2019s about how you respond. Nothing we can do about it now.\u201d<\/p>\n New York is 27-17 and in second place in the AL East.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \n\t\t\tCole Shelton<\/strong><\/a> Cole Shelton covers the NHL, MLB, Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns for Heavy.com. He has covered pro and college sports since 2016, including bylines at BJ Penn, USA Today, SB Nation, Rotowire, Canadian Baseball Network and more. More about Cole Shelton<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p>\nWells Has Improved Defensive Game<\/h2>\n
Yankees Eager for Mets Series<\/h2>\n