The average fan might not know that New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells is part Dominican. Wells will play for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, according to Josafat Pérez of Abriendo Sports.

Cambio importante en el roster @WBCBaseball : Austin Wells ha cambiado de decisión. Tras el nacimiento de su hija y con todo en perfecto estado de salud, ha decidido participar con la selección dominicana.

Wells entra por Agustín Ramírez y se une a Yainer Díaz como los catchers… https://t.co/HOJ4CTcZJS pic.twitter.com/0YAwpuucJ8

— Josafat Pérez (@josafatperez) February 2, 2026

Wells, 26, is Dominican through his mother, and his maternal grandparents were born there. This will be a good addition to strengthen the Dominican Republic’s defense with a lineup that is absolutely loaded. Dominican Republic general manager Nelson Cruz went out of his way to recruit Wells on Oct. 7, 2025, according to Daniel Santana of Diario Libre. 

Wells and his Career with the Yankees

​Wells was the Yankees first round pick out of Arizona in the 2020 Major League Baseball Draft. Wells had to battle a lot of questions about his defense and positional fit. When he was drafted, many scouts thought that he might have had to be converted to a first baseman or catcher. Wells didn’t let that deter him and spent extra time working behind the scenes with the Yankees’ minor league coaches. 

​2021 was Wells’ first year in the Yankees’ minor league system, and he had 16 passed balls with their Low-A Tampa and High-A Hudson Valley affiliates. In 2022 and 2023, he had nine passed balls combined in the minors.    

​In September of 2023, he made his MLB debut with the Yankees as a catcher, but he only played 19 games. Wells broke camp with the team in 2024, and he was on the MLB roster for the entire season. That was not smooth sailing for Wells with an American League-leading 11 errors in 872 ⅓ innings and a fielding percentage of .988. 

​This past season, Wells really stepped up his game, cutting down his errors to three and increasing his fielding percentage to .997 in 1,000 ⅓ innings. 

​Wells has improved to the point that he is not only a serviceable catcher, but now he is considered one of the best defensive catchers in MLB. Last season, he was third in framed runs value with 12 via Baseball Savant. Wells was rated as the fifth-best defensive catcher on Fangraphs in 2025. ​ 

​The left-handed hitting Wells also has demonstrated some good power for a catcher with 38 home runs in 825 MLB career at-bats. Last season, Wells had 21 home runs, 71 RBIs, five stolen bases, and a slashline of .219/.275/.436 in 401 at-bats. 

How does the Catcher fit on the Dominican Republic Team?

​The WBC will be a great test for Wells defensively to see how he handles a new pitching staff and to see where he is early in the season offensively. Wells joins his former teammate Agustin Ramirez on the Dominican Republic’s WBC roster, and he will round out their catching depth. 

​Ramirez was in the Yankees farm system with Wells for three and a half seasons and was part of a trade to the Miami Marlins for Jazz Chisholm at the 2024 trade deadline. 

​Wells will suit up for the Dominican Republic for the WBC in Pool D at loanDepot Park in Miami on March 6, 2026, and it will run through March 11, 2026. Wells will hope to help them avenge the Dominican Republic’s surprising elimination from pool play in the 2023 WBC. 

​Pool D will consist of the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the Netherlands, Israel, and Nicaragua. The top two teams will advance into the knockout stages of the tournament.  

PHOTO: El estadounidense Austin Wells, de los Yankees de Nueva York, observa su elevado de sacrificio durante la sexta entrada de un juego de béisbol contra los Azulejos de Toronto, el sábado 6 de septiembre de 2025, en Nueva York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)