FLUSHING, NY — J.C. Escarra, an addition to the New York Yankees’ 40-man roster last week, and a 15th round selection by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2017 MLB Draft, plays baseball all year round in three different leagues, with this season being his debut in Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la República Dominicana.
The Cuban-American Escarra, born in Hialeah, FL, took to the diamond in Mexico, Puerto Rico throughout previous winters dating back to 2022 and now this year, in the D.R. for Las Águilas Cibaeñas. This past Sunday, the 29-year-old appeared from Citi Field’s home dugout as the catcher of Las Águilas against Tigres del Licey in the “Titanes del Caribe: La Revancha” exhibition game.
“As long as I’m healthy, I’ll always be good to go. It’s a privilege to play in all these different leagues, and I’ve enjoyed all these experiences,” he said before first pitch in an exclusive interview.
Image Credit: Latino Sports
A student of the game that enjoys the sport, Escarra, had the opportunity to catch Dominican MLB veteran right-hander Johnny Cueto, who threw two scoreless innings with two strikeouts as the starter of Sunday’s contest.
“He’s a great veteran,” Escarra said during warm ups. “It will be a lot of fun to catch him, and hopefully, we get the win.”
The Aguilas ended up walking off Los Tigres del Licey from a single by shortstop Bladimir Restituyo to win by a final of 3-2, but for Escarra, Sunday marked a monumental day for him along with each player and coach on both sides — playing in front of well-voted Dominican baseball fans at a Major League ballpark in the Big Apple.
Image Credit: Henry Ordosgoitia (Henry O.)/Latino Sports
More on J.C. Escarra
Escarra got the call-up to Triple-A with the Yankees affiliate, the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in the second half of the season on July 19, 2024.
He caught fire during an early September series against the New York Mets’ Triple-A affiliate, the Syracuse Mets, with six home runs in five games. It was an incredible series for him, totaling 12 RBI and compiling a .471 batting average. His performance earned him International League Player of the Week with the RailRiders.
Image Credit: MiLB
Additionally, his combined season stats with the Yankees Double-A affiliate, the Somerset Patriots and the RailRiders were 12 home runs, 64 RBI, with a slash line of .261/.355/.434 in 426 at-bats.
“It was a lot of years of hard work and I was really happy to accomplish that goal of making the roster,” he said.
Image Credit: MiLB
Escarra, already anticipating 2025 Spring Training in Tampa, Florida, was on the Yankees’ Taxi Squad this past Postseason, helping in any way possible while staying loose in case of a potential injury, but mostly to remain developing his game.
“It was a lot of good energy and it was great to be around the team during that special time in October,” Escarra said of the postseason taxi squad experience.
While growing up, Escarra was a Yankees fan and his favorite player was fellow Cuban-American left-handed slugger Tino Martinez. Escarra, who is a left-handed power-hitter of his own with a swing enticing for Yankee Stadium, could potentially follow Martinez’s path to first base with the Yankees having the opening this offseason.
Yadier Molina goes in depth on how catching helped him transition to managing
Yadier Molina prior to “Titanes del Caribe: La Revancha” at Citi Field on Sunday afternoon – Image Credit: Latino Sports
“When you’re a player and you’re catching, you’re always thinking ahead and that helps you when you’re a coach and right now, I’m ready”, said Molina, the first-year Águilas manager during Sunday’s postgame, “I’m one step ahead — that’s the way you have to think about. I’m going to help players to think the same way and think ahead. That’s going to get you to a really good place.”
The Puerto Rican legend Molina will make the National Baseball Hall of Fame as a catcher with nine gold glove awards, 10 All-Star Game appearances, four platinum glove awards, Two World Series rings and the 2018 Roberto Clemente Award. His first year up for induction comes in 2028…
Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
Regardless, Molina could be just starting a new career on the managerial front with an MLB outlook towards his St. Louis Cardinals after next season, who may have a rebuild on the horizon.
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