The New York Yankees have opened to door to trade offers on Gary Sanchez, and these 3 teams should be making a call to GM Brian Cashman
Coming off a rough season for Gary Sanchez, and Kyle Higashioka taking over in the postseason, New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said the catcher position would be evaluated. On Thursday, the New York Post reported the Yankees will listen to trade offers on Sanchez.
Cashman acknowledged Sanchez’s uncertain future around a month ago.
“It’s certainly a fair question, the way Gary Sanchez’s season transpired and the way it ended with [Higashioka] actually starting in the postseason as many games as he did,’’ Cashman said in October of the Yankees’ catching situation. “It’s one of the discussion points we’re gonna have to focus on.”
On Thursday Jon Heyman of MLB Network put the Yankees on a list of suitors for Yadier Molina. So the subsequent report they are willing to listen on Sanchez is not a coincidence. J.T. Realmuto may also be of interest to the Yankees on the free agent market.
Sanchez hit 10 home runs and drove in 24 over 49 games this past season. But he had just a .147/.253/.365 slash-line, with 64 strikeouts over 178 plate appearances (36 percent strikeout rate).
Sanchez will turn 28 on Dec. 2. He was AL Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2016, earned an All-Star nod and a Silver Slugger Award in 2017. He earned a second All-Star selection in 2019, as he hit more than 30 home runs for the second time in three seasons.
Sanchez is entering his second year of arbitration eligibility. He made $5 million in 2020, and based on his struggles he won’t get much of a raise this year. Spotrac has projected him to make $5.75 million in 2021.
Sanchez is easily derided for his defensive shortcomings, and with two seasons (2017 and 2018) leading major league baseball in passed balls and a third (2020) where he led the American League in passed balls, it’s well-founded. But a look at his Baseball Reference page shows he throws out runners at or around league average, which is easily missed.
The Yankees surely won’t give Sanchez away, even if they’re entertaining moving him at a low point in his value.
Here are three teams who should call the Yankees about trading for Gary Sanchez.
Now that the Angles have hired a general manager (Perry Minasian), they can start pursuing offseason business. Starting pitching is an ongoing need and an obvious priority, with a top-heavy payroll (Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Anthony Rendon and Justin Upton all making $23 million or more in 2021).
Max Stassi had a good offensive season in 2020 (.278, .886 OPS, 7 HR, 20 RBI over 105 plate appearances). But that’s what we call a small sample outlier, with a .216 career batting average and a .659 career OPS. The signing of Jason Castro did not work out.
Not that the Angels need much help offensively, with the ninth-best run scoring offense in baseball this past season (11th in wRC+). But imagine a legit power threat at catcher, and Stassi is not broadly better defensively.
Sanchez’s remaining team control will be appealing to teams like the Angels. Their books start to clear out after this year, as Pujols’ mega-deal expires and Upton will have one year left on his deal. As of right now Sanchez will hit free agency at 30 years old, a tricky age for catchers on the decline curve. But his bat should keep him afloat, as the driver for his value anyway, and the Angels can use sprinkle him in as a DH down the road if need be.