The New York Yankees had a very solid catching tandem in 2024.

Austin Wells, the masher, was much better behind the plate than anticipated and ended up being a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year award.

Jose Trevino, the defensive specialist and framing artist, was adequate with the bat and became a valuable part-time player.

The Yankees, however, needed to reinforce the bullpen and dealt away Trevino for Fernando Cruz, among others.

Now, Alex Jackson, Ben Rice and JC Escarra will probably battle it out for backup catching duties.

Escarra, a 29-year-old minor leaguer, is in a good position to be the Yankees backup backstop and is a nice hitter with more upside than Trevino.

He is coming off a major individual award in one of the best Winter Leagues in the business: the Dominican Republic.

“While you were celebrating the holidays, C/1B JC Escarra, member of the @Yankees 40-man roster, was winning the @LIDOMRD batting title,” the Somerset Patriots wrote on X.

Escarra hit a masterful .363 in the LIDOM, proof of his extended winter dominance.

He also got on base at an amazing .467 clip, almost half of his plate appearances.

In 124 games between the Yankees’ Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, Escarra accumulated a rock-solid 119 wRC+.

He is no Trevino behind the plate, but no one is; and there is a chance he becomes a league-average hitter.

That, for an MLB backup catcher, would be an amazing outcome.

Wells is the future of the catcher position on the Yankees, but Escarra could become his backup with a strong spring.