Trailing 2-0 in the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers entering Game 3 on Monday, the New York Yankees are making some changes to a lineup that has scored just five runs in two games.
Jose Trevino will start at catcher for Game 3 in hopes of adding some punch to the offense. He replaces Austin Wells, who went a combined 1-for-8 in Games 1 and 2 and hit .098 in the postseason.
Trevino isn’t a significant offensive upgrade, hitting .215 with a .642 OPS during the regular season and 1-for-3 in the postseason. But he’s hitting better (.235, .642 OPS) against right-handed pitching, and the Dodgers will start right-hander Walker Buehler on Monday.
Wells is a much better defensive catcher, in addition to being a switch-hitter, which is why he was in the lineup. But if Shohei Ohtani is less of a base-stealing threat after hurting his shoulder on a slide in Game 2, a catcher who can throw out baserunners is less of a priority.
Trevino got the start in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the Cleveland Guardians for similar reasons, as Yankees manager Aaron Boone wanted a right-handed bat against left-handed pitcher Matthew Boyd. (Trevino went 1-for-2 before being replaced by Wells later in the game.)
Boone made no other changes to his Game 3 lineup, although many Yankees fans believe he should sit outfielder Alex Verdugo (.143, .286 OPS in World Series) in favor of top prospect Jasson Dominguez. Shortstop Anthony Volpe is hitless in the World Series (0-for-8), but there are no viable options to replace him in the field.
Most importantly, the Yankees need someone besides Juan Soto (.429, 1.413 OPS) to hit better if they want to make this World Series competitive. As a team, they are hitting .197 with a .574 OPS. Aaron Judge is hitting .111 with a .222 OPS, and Giancarlo Stantion has a .222 average, although he hit a home run in Game 1.
