Yankees trading Gary Sanchez away would be the wrong decision

Gary Sanchez had a very forgettable 2020 season like a lot of stars in baseball, but trading him is the wrong move

The New York Yankees were defeated by the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS this season. Some might see it as a failed season for a team that had World Series expectations. One of the stories of the postseason was Yankees’ catcher Gary Sanchez being benched in favor of Kyle Higashioka.

Sanchez only played in three postseason games, logging eight at-bats. It was a shock to Yankees fans, and one can only imagine it was a shock to Sanchez as well. Now that the offseason has arrived the Yankees have said they are willing to listen to trade offers for the All-Star catcher. The team has also checked in on 38-year-old catcher Yadier Molina as well.

On the surface this may not seem like the worst idea. If the Yankees were to trade him, they’d be dealing a player who won’t be a free agent until 2023. That kind of control would in theory net the Yankees a sizable return.

Yet, trading Sanchez would be a knee-jerk reaction to unforeseen lack of production in an unpredictable season filled with small sample sizes. How we got from Sanchez posting a 116 wRC+ in 2019 to now possibly trading away one of the best power hitting catchers in baseball is a head scratcher to put it nicely.

Sanchez has more home runs than any catcher since his rookie season in 2016. It’s not just the home runs either. Here where Sanchez ranks among all catchers since he broke into the league: he’s second in wOBA, third in wRC+, first in slugging by 28 points and he’s fifth in fWAR. The only reason he’s fifth in fWAR is because of his abysmal 2020 season.

His career production should speak for itself and be enough of a reason for the Yankees to not trade him. The only player that could actually replace Sanchez is J.T. Realmuto, but he’s free agent and it would be highly unlikely the Yankees would want to pay his asking price.

The Yankees would be left with a massive downgrade at catcher with Higashioka should they deal Sanchez. While Higashioka became Gerrit Cole’s personal catcher this past season, he’s not even half the hitter that Sanchez is. Putting faith in someone with a career 55 wRC+ over the player with the third highest wRC+ among all catchers the last five seasons doesn’t seem like the smartest decision in the world.

Brian Cashman’s job is to field the best possible team he can to bring a World Series trophy back to New York. Trading Sanchez would be taking steps backwards.