New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells has a long offseason ahead to fix what went wrong in 2026.
His season went off track early. Multiple foul balls hit his mask and the effects lingered for months.
The numbers dropped. Wells hit .166 with four home runs through June 6. He finished at .186 with 14 home runs and 32 RBIs in 122 games.
In 2025, Wells hit .219 with 21 home runs and 71 RBIs in 126 games. His OPS fell from .712 to .624.
Amid the work during the offseason, he also announced an exciting new project.
Austin Wells Announces Personal News
Wells is launching a card-ripping channel called Treasure Bay Breaks. He announced the venture on Instagram.
“I’m excited to announce that we are going to be launching a card-ripping channel called Treasure Bay Breaks. We’re going to be exclusive on Whatnot,” Wells said. “Our debut stream is November 18th. We’re going to be doing repacks, wax, similar shows.”
The streams will air only on Whatnot, a live-shopping platform. In hobby terms, wax means sealed packs and boxes of cards. Repacks are new packs that sellers assemble from existing cards.
Wells also launched apparel. He is rolling out Treasure Bay Breaks hats. Yankees captain Aaron Judge and left-hander Max Fried have already modeled the cap. So has Cam Schlittler, the unanimous 2026 American League Cy Young Award winner.
Wells has tried side projects before. In April 2025, he started an Instagram account that ranks breakfast burritos in visiting clubhouses and now he proudly calls himself the “Burrito Ranker”.
Austin Wells Dealt Bad News This Offseason
Wells also took a hit away from the field this month. Tanner Swanson, the Yankees’ catching coordinator since November 2019, is leaving to become the Seattle Mariners‘ bench coach.
Swanson will work under new Mariners manager Jason Kanzler.
Swanson’s work showed up in the numbers. In his seven seasons, Yankees catchers easily led the majors in several framing statistics.
The Yankees held Swanson in high regard for his work with catchers, including Wells.
Wells rose through the farm system with questions about his future behind the plate. He became a Gold Glove finalist this year.
The loss raises questions about how Wells and the Yankees’ catching group will fare without him.
Yankees’ Austin Wells Announces Personal News Amid MLB Offseason