Platoon Options At First Base And Catcher

By Andy Singer

October 14th, 2026

Photo Credit: AP

Let's get one really basic idea out of the way before the off-season really gets underway: the free agent class for position players is almost a barren wasteland. All of us would love for Hal Steinbrenner to see the error of his ways and tell the Yankee front office that they have an extra $100 million dollars in the annual budget. Let's even pretend for a second that Hal had such an epiphany this off-season! Even if that were the case, spending money on the free agent market this off-season is not going to solve the Yankees' problems. From a pure performance perspecitve, Jazz Chisholm is one of the best available free agents on the position player side of the free agent coin. Yes, I'm as surprised as you are.

That doesn't mean that the Yankees can't use the free agent market to improve this winter. The Yankees have some very useful pieces in their lineup who are best used in more limited fashion. While many fans are ready to throw in the towel on Austin Wells' reign as the top catcher on the Yankee depth chart, the reality is that there is very good reason to keep him around. Wells was horrendous to begin this season, but from July on, he was one of the best offensive catchers in the sport when hitting against right-handed pitching. Wells was basically unusable against left-handed pitching, though, and I've argued since he was a rookie that the Yankees needed a platoon partner for him. Luis Garcia Jr. struggled at the end of the season, but it's easy to see why the team would want to keep him around. He was one of the best hitters in both leagues against right-handed pitching, but again, he struggled mightily against lefties.

With that in mind, I want to take a look at a few realistic platoon options that make sense for the Yankees. Keep in mind that I am excluding guys who are certainly looking at starting jobs this winter, though I'd be plenty interested if guys like Tyler Stephenson got to whenever the inevitable lockout ends and were willing to accept a part-time role. With that in mind, let's discuss some options.

First Base

Paul Goldschmidt reportedly still wants to play, and there's little question but that he was a good veteran presence in the clubhouse, but I'm not sure that he's actually a great option as a platoon bat. While the overall numbers look very good, and even elite if we completely exclude his performance against right-handed pitching, the reality matches the Yankees' first experience with Goldy. Goldschmidt started the season on fire, but when the calendar turned to July, the pop and performance completely dried up. From July 1st to the end of the season, playing mostly with the platoon advantage, Goldschmidt produced just a .603 OPS. The Yankees cannot accept that level of performance from a premium offensive position again.

One name is very intriguing to me on the free agent market at 1B: Andrew Vaughn. Vaughn is a former top prospect and draft pick who was nearly ruined by the Chicago White Sox. They moved him all over the diamond in suboptimal ways and tried to change his swing to lift more fly balls. He was basically a throwaway piece when the Brewers acquired him in 2025. Since being acquired by the Brewers, Vaughn got back to his roots and has done one thing: hit.

I think there's a chance that Vaughn gets someone to sign him with the thought of playing him everyday at 1B, but I'm not sure the numbers support that. He's likely a second-division regular at 1B if he had to face tough righty pitching with real frequency, but he's a monster if he's deployed as a platoon bat who mashes lefties and can reliably play against righties when injuries inevitably arise.

Vaughn hit .336 with a .938 OPS against left-handed pitching, which stacks up with his previous performance against lefties. Most critically, Vaughn doesn't throw away at-bats. Aaron Boone became famous for his "savages in the box" rant way back in 2018, and that's a style of hitting to which the Yankees need to return. Vaughn would go a long way towards getting the Yankees there. Vaughn produced a chase rate of 23.5%, which would rank as elite if he had enough at-bats to qualify. He also rarely swings and misses while producing strong strikeout and walk rates. He takes his fair share of stroked singles, but he also has the ability to backspin one out over the fence up the middle and to the alleys. He's a below-average defender, but he's adequate enough to play 1B and moonlight at other positions, as needed.

I think it's possible that the Brewers decide to re-sign Vaughn this off-season, but if not, I think the Yankees should jump all over him, as he's exactly the prototype that I think the Yankees need: guys who have pop, make contact, and don't give away at-bats by chasing indiscriminately.

Catcher

Offense at catcher is incredibly difficult to come by. If you can hit at all and play decent defense, you are likely one of the 30 or so starters somewhere already. That leaves a cast of usable parts who need to me managed appropriately. I already noted that I think the Tyler Stephenson's of the world are likely to get a starting job somewhere, so I'm setting my sights a touch lower.

The first guy I like is Carson Kelly. Kelly is right on the border of being the type of guy who might get a starting nod somewhere, but his performance against right-handed pitching is poor enough that I don't think he'll get starting offers. Kelly is an elite blocker behind the plate who also has earned praise for how he works with a pitching staff. Kelly is an average framer, and I have a hunch that the Yankees could help him improve there, given their reputation on that front. Kelly has one issue defensively: throwing. He has worked hard to improve back there, but he's still well below-average. You can steal and advance on Kelly, but he's so good in other facets behind the plate that it's not a problem when he plays in a part-time role.

What Kelly does is hit lefties. Kelly produced a strong .871 OPS against lefties this year with a ,298 batting average. Again, this matches his overall tendency throughout his career to produce better numbers against lefties. Like Vaughn, Kelly produces very strong chase, whiff, strikeout, and walk numbers against all pitchers, so he frequently sees pitches and takes good at-bats even when he doesn't get a hit. Kelly would be a huge upgrade for the Yankees. I'd venture to call the Yankees' catching situation one of the best in baseball if they brought Kelly into the fold.

For a second option, what if I told you that there was a guy available this off-season who produced an .801 OPS against left-handed pitching (which is in-line with his platoon splits over time), has huge pop, walked almost as much as he struck out against lefties, displayed elite chase and walk rates, while keeping strikeouts to the lowest levels of his career? Oh, and he certainly won't be looking for a starting job or starting money. You would be pretty interested in that guy, right?

The player described above is Gary Sanchez. He is slightly below average in most aspects of catching defensively, but pitchers still like throwing to him, and in a limited role, he can still really hit. No, he doesn't bat for a high average, but he does a lot of the things offensively that the Yankees need from a platoon catcher, and he can hold his own against righties in the event of an injury. The Yankees could do worse than Gary Sanchez as the backup, platoon catcher next season.