Down 2-0 in the World Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers going into Monday night’s Game 3, the New York Yankees are making some changes to a lineup that’s only scored five runs in two games.
Jose Trevino will start at catcher for Game 3 with the hope that he can add some more punch to the offense. He replaces Austin Wells, who hit a combined 1-for-8 in Games 1 and 2 and is batting .098 during the postseason.
Trevino isn’t a significant offensive upgrade, batting .215 with a .642 OPS during the regular season and 1-for-3 in the postseason. But he hits better (.235, .642 OPS) against right-handed pitching and the Dodgers are starting righty Walker Buehler on Monday.
Wells is a much better defensive catcher, in addition to 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 also got the start in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series versus the Cleveland Guardians for similar reasons, but Yankees manager Aaron Boone also wanted a right-handed bat against left-handed pitcher Matthew Boyd. (Trevino hit 1-for-2 before being replaced by Wells later in the game.)
Boone didn’t make any other changes for his Game 3 lineup, though 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 aren’t viable options to replace him in the field.
However, the Yankees need someone besides Juan Soto (.429, 1.413 OPS) to hit better if they’re going to make this World Series competitive. As a team, they’re batting .197 with a .574 OPS. Aaron Judge is hitting .111 with a .222 OPS, while Giancarlo Stantion has a .222 average, though he slugged a home run in Game 1.
