Austin Wells season went from lifeless to surging right when Yankees needed it

At least for offensive reasons, Austin Wells had been approaching unplayable territory, and even GM Brian Cashman acknowledged in July the catching position had grown into “an issue, clearly.” From the start of the season to Aug.2 — a stretch of four-plus months only interrupted by a June stint on the injured list — the Yankees’ starting catcher owned the worst average (.161) and OPS (.537) in baseball among the 240 hitters who took as many at-bats as he did.  Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees.

And since the Aug.3 trade deadline, when the Yankees essentially committed to Wells playing full time as he began to show signs of life, he has been the most played catcher in the sport, squatting for 42 of 47 games and catching 5,779 pitches, both tops in that span. “That’s awesome,” said Wells, whose rare days of rest are about to evaporate. Starting Tuesday, Wells in all likelihood will be the everyday Yankees catcher for the postseason.

If Ali Sánchez catches for one meaningful inning, either something has gone wrong for the Yankees or a game has turned sideways. After Game 162 on Sunday and beginning when the Red Sox visit The Bronx for Game 1 of the wild-card round, Wells will take a knee behind the plate for a maximum of 22 postseason games, and he feels ready for the challenge. “I feel solid [physically].It comes and goes — you take a foul ball to the face, you make a couple of throws in a couple of games, your arm starts hanging a little bit,” Wells said this week.

“But this is how I want it.This is where I want to be.” It would have been difficult to envision this is where Wells would be a few months ago. A prospect known for his bat who had been OK offensively — roughly league average — in his first three seasons while showing off a defensive acumen that was far better than expected.

If this season the Yankees expecte...