WASHINGTON — On Thursday morning, Brian Cashman acknowledged the obvious when asked about the Yankees catcher position.

“It’s an issue, clearly,” he said.

Since then, Austin Wells homered in back-to-back games after having just one in his previous 38 games dating to May 1.

And while that does not change the fact that the Yankees still need catching help at the deadline, the two swings sorely were needed signs of life from the backstop who has still been one of the league’s worst hitters approaching the All-Star break.

“Hopefully, it’s something that he continues to build on,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees’ 4-2 win over the Nationals on Saturday night in which Wells went 0-for-2 after coming into the game to replace starter Ali Sanchez. “We need him to, and he needs to build on that, because he needs to be a factor for us offensively.”

The lefty-hitting catcher crushed a home run against Rays lefty Cam Booser in Thursday’s offensive outburst and then delivered an even more important blow in the ninth inning Friday night, belting a solo shot off Nationals righty Justin Lawrence to provide breathing room after Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s go-ahead blast.

They were reminders of the kind of offensive potential Wells, flashed more often over his first three years in the big leagues before it mostly disappeared this season.

He entered play batting just .153 with a .504 OPS and six home runs.

His batting average (now at .151) and OPS both were the lowest among 255 hitters with at least 200 plate appearances, while his WRC+ of 42 (100 being league average) was the second lowest.

“On the defensive side, I think we’re thriving there,” Cashman said Thursday. “On the offensive side, it’s been a struggle, and it’s a surprise. We feel like we have players capable of a lot more. I recognize and acknowledge how difficult this game can be, and so it’s become an area of concern, clearly, when it wasn’t expected to be. I know [Wells] is doing everything he can, and they are doing everything they can to improve in that category. I know that they’re capable of that, but at the same time, it’s been a struggle.”

While Wells was on the injured list in June for cervical headaches, he went to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and worked with some minor league hitting coaches on refining his mechanics.

Boone has continued to insist he sees a difference in Wells’ movement in the box since his June 21 return, even though he had little to show for it until Thursday and Friday.

“I haven’t been making it up,” Boone said. “I do feel like since coming back [from the IL], I’ve noticed him moving the needle, as far as his move and stuff, that’s a little more in line, just from my eye, with what he’s been in the past. So that’s absolutely in there. What we saw [Friday] night and the day before, from a move standpoint, is a lot different than a few weeks ago, maybe not to the naked eye, but me watching him, I see a significant difference.”

Part of the reason the Yankees have continued to stick with Wells behind the plate — besides not having many viable internal options to replace him — is because of how much they value his work with the pitching staff.

The club believes that is more important than offensive production from its catchers, and Wells was continuing to do that despite his brutal slide at the plate.

Asked Thursday about whether there was any consideration being given to optioning Wells to Triple-A to work on his offense, Cashman declined to say, other than acknowledging, “We have those levers at our disposal.”

While it remains to be seen whether Wells’ production over the last few days is a sign of real progress or just a tease, it should at least let him breathe a little easier for now.

“I haven’t sensed a drag in there,” Boone said. “But anytime you struggle like he has offensively, on some level, it’s going to affect you. I’ve been there. But again, it’s one of those things that you got to deal with as a competitor, as a big leaguer. I’m sure getting some results and impacting the baseball a few times here in the past couple days is at least a little bit settling for him.”