MLB Rumors: 5 Yankees most likely to be traded this offseason

1. Gary Sanchez

The recent change in the way the Yankees talk about Sanchez speaks volumes about his future in the Bronx. Everyone in the organization publicly backed him at every opportunity well into the 2020 regular season. During the playoffs, the tenor of those comments noticeably changed to express certainty about the catcher’s future with the franchise.

Sanchez may be one of the most talented offensive catchers in the game, but his horrendous play in 2020 weighed the Yankees’ attack down. He flashed decent power with 10 home runs, but his putrid output in every other statistical category proved him to be one of the worst regulars in all of MLB.

In a strange way, his horrible offensive campaign managed to overshadow Sanchez’s defensive struggles. That’s never been his strength, but he was arguably even worse behind the plate in 2020. It’s easy to understand why the Yankees would want to offload a player who was poor in every aspect of the game last year.

Sanchez can still draw trade interest from other teams because of his high ceiling as a hitter. That could turn into the Yankees’ saving grace on the matter. If they can flip Sanchez for a player who can help them in 2021, Cashman should pull the trigger on the deal.