A little under a month ago, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman suggested the club would evaluate the catcher position this offseason. That could put Gary Sanchez in jeopardy of remaining a Yankee in 2021. Now, according to Joel Sherman, Ken Davidoff and Dan Martin of the New York Post, the Yankees will at least listen to trade offers for Sanchez.
This development regarding Sanchez comes on the heels of a report saying the Yankees have interest in free agent Yadier Molina, a longtime Cardinal and potential Hall of Famer who would give New York a defensive upgrade at catcher. Of course, Molina is far older than Sanchez (38 to 27) and doesn’t possess as much offensive upside at this point of his career. Both players had subpar seasons at the plate in 2020 (82 wRC+ for Molina, 69 for Sanchez), but the powerful Sanchez was a well-above-average hitter as recently as 2019. He also began his career with a flourish from 2016-17 before a down year in ’18.
Should the Yankees decide to move on from Sanchez, they could also turn to J.T. Realmuto or James McCann in free agency. Realmuto may command a $100MM-plus contract, though, which checks in well north of the $5.1MM to $6.4MM Sanchez is projected to earn in arbitration this offseason. Sanchez also has arbitration eligibility for 2022, so it would be a risky move on the Yankees’ part to cut bait on an affordable, controllable backstop who has enjoyed a pretty successful, albeit uneven, career to this point. The only other catcher on their 40-man roster is Kyle Higashioka, a 30-year-old who owns a line of .186/.221/.381 (55 wRC+) through 204 major league plate appearances.
What a surprise that they’d listen to trade offers for this clown.
Dude needs a change of scenery and a new position.
Drury was traded for Happ. I think the Yankees got Urshela for cash…
Huh?
Yeah, something must have been deleted I’m guessing; otherwise, that just doesn’t make any sense whatsoever…lol
Ohhh, nevermind, I guess it was a reply fail to CavanFuggedYourBichio’s comment..
This is why the Yankees should be trying to make more of these low-risk/high-reward deals. They almost always come out in great shape.
About time the Yankees decided to move on. Sánchez has a lifetime .236 average over 1500 at bats. Sánchez reminds me of Chris Davis owner of .233 lifetime average over almost 5000 at bats just less power. This guy should probably be a DH but really doesn’t even hit enough for that. Yankees probably won’t get much for Sánchez at this point.
Here’s an offer, Gary Sanchez for…. SHOVE IT UP YOUR BUTT.
If you get the reference, you get the reference.
How the turn tables…
Thanks, Stanley.
Lift with you knees…and shove it up for butt!
You just got MEATBALLED!!!
“I don’t care if your gay, straight, or overweight”
“may command”? I’d bet it’s a certainty that JTR exceeds 100M. I’m guessing at least 25M per over 5 or 6 years.
I don’t disagree, but it’s a little less certain with the COVID situation.
That or he’ll prob be a grandfather by the time that contract is up
what’s the problem with that? -Bobby Bonilla
Love a good Bobby Bonilla joke. Never gets old
Partial deferral. On a premium guy like JT the money will be there if he wants it, just might have to wait.
Don’t know if he gets 6, and not sure I go 5/125M for him, either if there’s another year of no fans or limited attendance, he may be suited for a 1 year contract and take advantage of the market the following year.
Unless Cohen from the Mets decides to handout blank checks.
Odd – there shouldn’t be an “s” after “offer.” Must be a typo.
They’re only going to listen to one offer.
They may only receive one offer.
10 bucks, take it or leave it!
The Yankees are not going to get much for Sanchez. Maybe a lottery ticket. Certainly not a top 100 prospect.
That’s why it says listen…not trade for nothing. Sanchez has way more value than a lottery ticket even if he’s not catching for his potential future team.
I don’t know. Listening to how much Yankee fans have trashed him you might get the idea all you would get is a lottery ticket.
I’m not sure “listening to offers” is all that newsworthy. That’s pretty much what the job of being an MLB GM is, man.
Uh?
And…my fellow Yankee fans have gleefully hopped on some tired & inaccurate narratives involving Phat Sancho. One being that “his defense sucks”.
Incorrect. At least according to Fangraphs. 2020 was the *first* season in his career that he received below average marks with the glove.
I think he really struggled with the changes Swanson was trying to implement. I believe a *lot* of that had to do with the shortened season.
Gary Sanchez also recorded his 100th home run faster than any other MLB catcher. That’s throughout the history of the game, man. Does he strike out? Yup. Does he have a low batting average? Yup. Does he knock the snot out of a baseball? Yes indeed.
I take my fellow Yankee fans with more than a grain of salt. I mean…look, just last year these same folks were clambering to trade Frazier for a “bag of balls” (this year they’ve added Gleyber & Judge to their fantasy trade lists).
Uh?
Of course they’ll listen to offers. But they absolutely will *not* be giving him away. If he does get traded Cashman (who is really value conscious) will make sure of a good return.
I consider myself a fairly level headed Yankees fan and I think Sanchez needs to go. He’s had several different coaches telling him what to do and he’s trying to do it in the pressure cooker that is NY. I doubt he’ll ever be a great defender but if he goes to a less stressful environment with consistent coaching I think he’ll be a decent catcher.
Fair enough, @joe says.
I just have a hard time panning him for his performance this year. The same year/circumstances that saw guys like Bellinger and Yellich put up pretty bad numbers as well.
I’m a Gary Sanchez fan, & I will freely admit he definitely has some warts. &, man, when he’s struggling…jeeez, he’s really hard to watch.
@srecher – another Yankee fan on here – pointed out the irony that Sanchez would be exactly the type of player the Yanks would be targeting if they needed a catcher!
Delicious.
Ducky Buckin Fent:
There’s a lot more that a catcher does than catch, and block the ball in the dirt. There’s no way to quantify how he works with the pitchers, other than cERA, and that can be misleading. His CS% isn’t that good, and in fact has mostly declined over his career.
The red flag though is how the Yankees feel about him as their catcher. One would guess, if they’re telling other teams that they’re willing to listen, that they are not happy with his work behind the plate. Teams don’t give up on guys after one bad season with the glove.
D’accord.
cERA is a sketchy stat. For whatever little it’s worth Sanchez always had a better cERA than Romine did.
So there’s that.
I have a theory as to why his CS% has gone down. It’s analogous to good CB’s in football. Once these guys get a rep QB’s stop testing them.
Therefore, their interceptions totals decrease.
I think the same principle holds true for good throwing catchers, man. Only good base stealers attempt to run on them.
I’ve done no research on this lol! I’d rather be out hunting with my dogs.
So I’ve nothing to back up this conjecture.
It certainly feels right, though.
Ducky:
I’m not a Yankee fan so I don’t see them play a lot. Given just how hard it is to quantify through stats how good a catcher is, other than hitting, my point is there’s no better judge of a catcher’s work than the coaching staff of the team he plays for. Despite a poor 2020, Sanchez has tremendous upside with the bat. Since good hitting, good defensive catchers are rare, the fact that the Yankees are willing to let him go, speaks volumes about what they think of his work behind the plate.
Ok.
I understand what you’re getting at. Essentially, if the Yankees are willing to trade him that implies some type of flaw.
That’s a pretty nuanced take & not quite what I was prepared for. 😉
I guess the big thing is are they actually, activity *trying* to trade him or are they merely willing to listen to offers. I think it’s the latter. That seems to be the implication in the link provided in the article.
I don’t think they’ll just move him to move him. If it’s part of a series of moves then – yeah – I could see.
Ducky:
You could be right. After all, as another poster pointed out, listening to offers is the job of a GM. The difference though is the Yankees seemingly letting other teams know this. But you’re right, we have no idea what degree the Yankees are thinking. Are they actively trying to move him, or just floating the idea to gauge what kind of return they’d get.
Another poster suggested the Yankees are sending a message that he needs to work hard and be a lot better in 2021.. That could also be true.
The fact, @tad2b13, that the Yanks are being public about it is certainly notable.
To that end, I certainly do see your original point.
In something that went under the radar a bit last year, the Yankees poached Tanner Swanson from the Twins to be their catching coach. I grew up in NY but I live in Minneapolis these days.
So I’m familiar with Swanson.
He’s really good.
I was looking forward to seeing how he’d help Gary take the next step. I don’t think either of them were really given the time they needed together to put in the work required.
We’ll see how it all plays out. But if I was going to wager on it, I’d put my cash on him returning.
I get the sentiment, but it is a change of position. Sanchez wasn’t available for cheap after last season
That’s why it’s noteworthy. Maybe not newsworthy. But noteworthy
Sanchez can’t catch. He hasn’t hit. He strikes out 1/3 of the time. A lotto ticket is all the Yankees should expect to get.
Do some research lad. Just click the link with the players name.
“He hasn’t hit.”
Gary Sanchez OPS & OPS+ by season.
2016 1.032 & 168
2017 .876 & 126
2018 .697 & 89 (league average for catcher that year was 79 & the Yankees rushed him back from a groin strain)
2019 .841 & 118
Bro. Gary Sanchez would easily be one of the two or three best hitters on Cleveland.
Look, I’m not picking on you – or whatever – but this should really show the pitfalls of choosing narrative over facts, man.
😉
Given his power which he does flash as evidenced by the fastest to 100 home runs at his position, and given the leagues love affair with the Home Run, there will be teams willing to believe that given a change of scenery and new coaching, that he can achieve average defensive numbers while offering offensive punch that puts fans in the seats.
In todays league, every team and fan LOVES homers, exit velocity, distance and launch angle and many of his hits regardless of frequency, go hard, fast, and a long, long way!
Again, he’s had a grand total of *one* below average defensive season, man; 2020.
He’s not Pudge or Jim Sundberg back there. He is – however – definitely serviceable.
Fine, Ducky, then the Yankees can keep him and suffer the consequences. Gary Sanchez will never play for the Cleveland Indians and I am totally fine with that.
I guess I’ll have to “suffer” with a two time All Star catcher & watching my team put up more runs than anyone else in the AL (of which Gary will play a big part in) & make the playoffs again.
Gosh. Could be so much worse.
Ya know?
I know you don’t like him & no amount of stats or data will dissuade you from your take. I’ve provided plenty of them.
That’s fine by me.
There are always players that just don’t resonate with all fans. Mostly, I’ve been using numbers to debunk some rather dubious narratives. You still don’t want to buy it, so that’s cool, man.
Never say never though.
The reality is, the Indians would absolutely be a team that is interested in acquiring Gary Sanchez.
So.
The reality is very clear. Gary Sanchez will NEVER be a Cleveland Indian.
Cleveland values pitching and defense. They employ two time AL Gold Glove catcher Roberto Perez and traded for Austin Hedges, another outstanding defensive catcher, as part of the Mike Clevinger trade. Their catchers are part of the reason the Indian pitching is so good,
Well, damn.
Sorry about that Mr Chernoff. Didn’t realize you were on the board posting under a different name.
It just struck me that with your team’s abysmal offense & penchant for mind boggling frugality that an offensive player of this caliber would be intriguing to you who are the actual Cleveland Indians GM.
My bad. Thank you for letting me know the Indians official position on this Mr Chernoff. (But, jeeez, you guys really do need some better hitters – & Hedges kinda stinks.)
I stand corrected.
Ducky, you always have turn to rudeness to anyone who disagrees with you and can provide a sound, logical reason behind their response.
And Yankee fans wonder why so many people hate the Yankees.
Ducky, you are wrong. Be a man and admit it. Don’t stoop to your middle school routine.
I’m not sure how that qualifies as “rude”. Seemed a playful way of pointing out that you don’t speak for the franchise.
& always is a really big number.
As for “logic”? Well, stating that because they have Austin Hedges on the roster precludes an addition of Sanchez is dubious at best.
These is simply no way that you – as a merely a fan – can say with all certainty that “Gary Sanchez will NEVER be a Cleveland Indian.” You just can’t because – like myself – you have no idea what your club’s front office will or will not do.
We’re here because we like to think about it and discuss it. But that’s about as far as it goes.
Ya know?
Man, just because you have a hate on for him doesn’t mean Chernoff does. I’ll bet he has a much different view of him than you do.
Take that to the bank.
I’m not going to stoop to insults or demand apologies but, sir, I find your assertion to be incorrect.
Yet, if we *were* to do the “just be a man and admit it” thing…well…
Ducky, Any team that values defense at the catcher position would likely have no interest in Sanchez because of his poor defense. Why are the Yankees listening to trade offers? Answer, because of Gary Sanchez’s incredibly poor defense. Why is it so hard for you to understand that a team that stresses pitching and defense like the Indians, would not have any interest in Gary Sanchez. It is just a logical and common sense opinion based on facts and the recent history of the Indian organization.
To begin with, your entire premises is flawed. A few weeks ago, I provided you with the exact numbers.
You can go to Fangraphs & look them up yourself this time. 2016-19 he graded out as an above average defensive catcher. If we’re going to discuss things that are apparently “hard to understand” I guess this may fall under that particular category for me. The numbers are right there. Go see for yourself.
Which I’ve now informed you of multiple times. Regardless, that hardly qualifies as “bad”. That’s mere narrative, man.
2020 was his first season when he received a negative defensive grade. Seeing the dramatic fluctuations of defensive metrics year to year I’m much more inclined to look at the overall body of work.
Generally, those numbers tend to be worthwhile at ~ the three year mark.
As to why the Yankees would consider trading him, that’s because it’s early in the off-season and they are examining every path towards improvement.
Pretty much what all GM’s are doing, man.
I get the Indians are built around their pitching & they are a decent fielding ball club. Sure, and…?
I just don’t see your entire claim as a “logical and common sense based opinion”. You simply don’t like him. Therefore, you’ve decided your favorite team doesn’t, either.
If you are keeping track, you have now been wrong about several things.
(clears throat meaningfully)
For the first time Rawlings award a team Gold Glove award. The Chicago Cubs won the award for the National League and the Cleveland Indians won the award for the American League. That shows that they are more than a decent fielding ball club.
Fangraphs defensive war for 2019 – Hedges 27.6, Perez 20.1, and Sanchez 1.5.
I get that you are a Gary Sanchez fan, but he is not a good defensive catcher. That is why the Yankees are shopping him and why the Indians would not have any interest in him.
We will not agree. That is fine. I am glad that he is on the Yankees.
Have a nice night. Stay safe!
Never claimed he was a “good defensive catcher”, @hockeyjohn.
Merely that he is above average.
Ergo; not bad.
Typically, I’m glad he’s on the Yankees, too. This year that was…harder.
Good hunting.
Rockies. They were made for each other.
Pass. The Rockies have already had one Wilin Rosario. They don’t need another.
Perfect landing spot.
As a DH? Abso-freakin-lutely. Not as a catcher. He’s not actually one of those.
Hell, I’d teach him 1B.
His defense is very very very bad is why the Yanks want to say goodbye. He is a future DH unfortunately they have Stanton who is owed to much to get traded.
The reason why the Yankees are stuck in neutral isn’t due to lack of starting pitching or slump prone offense. It’s their awful defense up the middle. They need to replace Sanchez, Torres (move him to 1B or 2B) and Hicks, who lost several steps this season
what’s the problem with Torres as a SS?
25 errors in 1100 innings at SS.
With that body…..all you need to do is watch his games at the position.
His range is certainly limited as compared to what the Yankees were used to with Didi!
Didi came to New York with a jose Iglesias reputation of light bat, great glove.. .. let’s not ever try to set didis defense as a standard expectation
Yanks were one game away from the world series the last few years, that’s hardly stuck in neutral. The playoffs are outlier, the Dodgers took 5 years to break through when they were the best team.
I would say rangers but I feel like they are wanting tervino to take over
Trevino until Huff is ready I’d say
My prediction is no one trades for Sanchez, Yankees sign Realmuto and non-tender Sanchez.
brewcrewjaz:
The Yankees wouldn’t be considering Yadi, if they were going after Realmuto. I have to take their word that they want to reduce payroll and get below the CBT threshold. Signing Realmuto means a big luxury tax bill for seasons to come.
It’s a possibility, but I’d rather see a McCann signing for 2yrs with an option year and then trade Sanchez by paying down his salary.
Sanchez IMO has a low baseball IQ and needs to be mentored in a way that wakes him up to what needs to be done to reach his potential. He can deliver good value as a starting catcher for several years and then DH and play part time catch IF he learns to be a smarter hitter and better defender. He’s got elite power and needs to bring the other parts of his game up to league avg or better.
I think Romine and McCann are their targets at catcher.
Take my wife, please.
Is she a bat-first catcher or the sub-Mendoza line type who blocks everything thrown her way?
How about G Sanchez to the Marlins for Trevor Rodgers, Isan Diaz and Alfaro? Gives Yanks an option to replace LeMahieu if he departs. A No 3/4 type starter in Rodgers and a replace option in Alfaro.
Marlins get a C upgrade
I feel like that’s an overpay from the Marlins POV.
BIG overpay.
even Alfaro alone is an overpay. with Alfaro the bat being solid for the position is a solid. Sanchez isnt even a given to hit.
Well its an overpay for the year he had. I agree with that. But if a team believes a change a scenery and a new coaching staff will allow them to unleash the Kraken this would be a bargain.
Finding a deal that works for both sides is going to be too hard. The Yankees are going to have to keep him or live with selling him on the cheap.
I was thinking Marlins at first too. Diaz is too much though.
Alfaro alone is worth more than Sanchez. Sanchez is basically a mendosa-line DH who can smack 30HRs if he gets enough playing time. I’m not sure what the market is for that but it’s not all that much.
And half the league would sign up for those 30 homers and a Mendoza hitting line in a heart beat! Not familiar with this. kid Alfaro, but you’re talking about a veteran big league player who has questions defensively and offensively….but if he puts it all together…..watch out!
Do you remember Chris Carter from the Astros and Yankees? He averaged about 30 hr with mendoza batting line maybe a little higher, subpar defense. Hit 41 HR in his 29 year old season. Signed with the yankees for his age 30 season and fell off a cliff and half way through the season he even got cut. Never played MLB after that. He is actually still arbitration eligible until 22.
Are they around the corner looking to sign him?
If he doesn’t catch the ball at least he’ll call for pitches at guys heads and sucker punch guys at the bottom of scrums.
Hard pass.
Yeh, and tell us again how many pennants the Angels have won?
Commenting on personality would immediately eliminate half the major league players at the start……
In the past 18 years both the Angels and Yankees have won exactly one.
Yes because the true value of any comment is obviously the number of pennants won by their home team.
Sanchez is probably back or he’s traded for at least 1 top 100 prospect and others and the yankees sign McCann, The only other way I see this playing out if he doesn’t leave is DJ leaves and the Yankees trade Sanchez for ML IF help.and sign McCann.
There not signing JT they can’t “afford” pitching how does he fix that
You think he will fetch a top 100 prospect? I just don’t see that happening.
Maybe a team’s top 100 prospect but certainly not an MLB Top 100 prospect. Not even close. His value is about the same as Andujar’s right now. You get a couple of lottery tickets for that at the most.
While admittedly his value is low, possibly at the lowest, pontificating about what would come back the other way is pure speculation…..you comment about what would come back in return smacks of a lack off first hand knowledge watching him for the past 3 seasons….try watching a game before making such ridiculous comments..
You probably were on the Frazier sucks train also speculating how he wasn’t a major league player because of a series of bad defensive games possibly due to concussion difficulties.
Adam Frazier straight up for Sanchez
Two hotdogs and a bag of peanuts, but only if the Yankees pay for the food and 100 percent of the contract……
Lol. Hmmm who’s looking for a obnoxious zero defense slugger who looks like he’s running in quicksand?
Qbass187 – the Columbus Clippers…
But he’s a Hall of Fame catcher…?
How many players can you look at and say they are hall of fame players in their first 3 years? He has done things no catchers have EVER done.
Pretty much every yankee fan calls every yankee player a hall if Famer their first 3 years.
I keep reading how this is Sanchez’s first poor year defensively. . Then why did every yankee manager pull him for defensive reasons? Why do the pitchers prefer the other catcher?
If the stats say hes a decent defensive catcher, then the stats lie.
Pretty much every red sox fan is obsessed with the Yankees. Adorable.
Red sox have some fresh championship banners in their display case… yankees banners are all old and worn out.
Yankees are Wild Card Champs though. Lol
Grandpa… tell us again how great the yankees were before they were required to wear helmets…
When you aren’t catching for Cole, you really can’t be the Yankee starting catcher.
Gary needs a kick in the pants to get his career back on track. He has a mountain of power and a great arm too. Someone just needs to light a fire under his rear.
A trade would be just the right thing for him now.
This is going to be an interesting thread to follow. Some Yankee fans have had a lot of negative stuff to say about Sanchez so it will be interesting to see what some of them think Sanchez will draw in a trade.
As a Yankee fan, I’d be delighted to see Gary move to another team, where he’d probably rebound (provided his new coaches didn’t replicate the stupid experiment of making him catch on one knee to improve his framing marginally, which made him worse at blocking). It seems clear enough that he’s not responding well to the pressure of playing in New York.
That said, I think most commenters here are underestimating what Cashman could get for him. He’s one partial season removed from ranking 1st in HR, 2nd in RBI, 6th in fWAR and 4th in wRC+ among catchers with at least 400 PA.
I don’t think GMs are likely to be as emotional about it as Yankee fans are.
I think some Yankee fans make to much about the pressure of New York. If he is all that negatively effected than why did he have some really GOOD seasons with the Yankees?
You might be right. But in August of 2017, the New York press basically boxed Girardi into commenting on Sanchez’s defensive shortcomings, and I think the front office was pissed-off at Joe for criticizing their star. Since then, the press has been relentless in their focus on Gary’s defense until it’s become a major issue. The front office’s attempts to address it with coaching changes have seemingly backfired.
Different players have different tolerance levels for incessant criticism. The fact that a dinner with A-Rod and J-Lo once brought Gary out of a slump suggests to me that he’s one of those players who’s more susceptible to emotional negativity and responsive to positivity than others might be.
You make the connection between a dinner with Rod-Lo and Sanchez as the reason he came out of a slump. Maybe, I suppose. Or it just could have been a pleasant dinner and the things that actually brought Gary Sanchez out of a slump was baseball related that you didn’t see. A lot of players go through these kinds of ups and downs but it’s only in NYY that you hear reasons like how he can’t take the New York lights. It sounds a little contrived to me.
I didn’t establish the connection between the dinner and the end of his slump: Sanchez did. That’s what he told the press.
Mr. Person:
A bad defensive catcher with good batting numbers is a DH. I’m not saying he is, that’s hard to quantify, but if the team is not happy with his work, and I doubt they are, my guess is he is a future DH.
In 2018, Sanchez was credited with 4 Defensive Runs Saved. In 2020, he was taxed with -4 Defensive Runs Saved. I don’t think he lacks the raw ability. I think he needs a change of scenery with new coaches and he’ll be a viable backstop, not a DH.
Mr. Person:
Between defensive stats for catchers, which don’t take into account how he handles a pitching staff, and what his own coaches think about his work, I’ll go with the coaches. With his offensive potential, if the team thought he was good behind the plate. they wouldn’t be willing to listen to proposed trades or be that interested in Yadi Molina.
In 2018, according to StatCast’s Catcher Framing Leaderboard, he had a 50% Strike Rate. If that doesn’t sound impressive, realize that #1 was Jeff Mathis with a 55.1% Strike Rate. Gary’s rate was better than Posey, Realmuto, Maldonado, Vazquez, McCann and Molina. As for game-calling skills, there still isn’t much in the way of metrics to quantify that, but in 2018 he had the best catcher ERA and tOPS+ of the three backstops on the Yankee roster.
His offensive decline was much more of a concern this year than his decline behind the plate; that’s why they’re listening to offers. As for the decline in his defensive skills, it looks to me like he was coached into a decline by the Yankee coaching staff. They effed up Sonny Gray, and look what happened when he got to Cincinnati.
I continue to believe that a change of scenery and coaching will revive his career.
Phillies might make a lot of sense if they lose Realmuto.
If any manager can help Gary with his catching, Girardi can.
Girardi has been his manager.
Gary Sanchez for Christian Vazquez.
LOL
Somewhere Christian Vazquez is laughing and doesn’t know why
Would the Yankees consider coming for Buster Posey, I wonder? While not a superstar anymore, he’s still a very good defensive catcher who is younger and as good as or better than Yadi.
Sanchez + PTNL for Posey and Crawford, who could also help NY at SS?
That makes very little sense. The Yankees are trying to shed salary not add that. Along with the two NTCs that’d have to be waived.
Yeah, maybe you’re right. I think those two would waive their NTCs to play for NYY, especially if SF signals that it’s not really going to compete until 2022 (both are only under contract for another year), but yes, SF would have to eat a lot of $$$ in that scenario.
Scottn59c:
Even without the NTCs, no way the Giants are trading their potential HoF catcher, along with Crawford, for a DH and a PTBNL.
Why would the Giants trade the face of their franchise for a guy with a lower batting average than some of their pitchers (in 2019)?
To save $ in a non-contending year. Sanchez could use the change of scenery, and there are two catchers waiting in the wings in Bart and Wilson.
Posey’s bat would play better elsewhere, and he’s arguably not the face of the franchise anymore; that distinction has been overtaken by Yaz IMO.
As nice of a story as Yaz is, a 30 year old career minor leaguer with minimal success at the big league level has not passed a three time World Series winner and league MVP as the face of the Giants franchise.
Posey has certainly lost some face value by sitting out 2020.
The Giants seemed pretty faceless in 2020 without Posey still.
Crawford?!
He was on Disney channel at least once, now that’s face value!
Yaz had 21 HR in 2/3 of a season, then 10 HR in 1/3 of a season.
He seems like a pretty even bet with Posey for taking that face title for 2021. Recency bias!!
Every team she be calling and offering THEIR non-tender candidates.
Gary Sanchez is not even close to being non-tendered.
We’ll see about that. i bet it’s at least a 30% chance.
He really sucks.
Remember when Yankee fans thought Gary Sanchez for Realmuto was a “marginal” upgrade and not worth it?
Now the Yankees would be lucky to get a used washing machine for Sanchez.
That’s fine, we can totally ignore context to fit the Gary Sanchez narrative. It’s all the rage these days, follow the crowd. The power of 20/20 hindsight makes you almighty, wish I had that skill.
I don’t even know how to evaluate Sanchez so I can’t even begin to think of a possible trade scenario.
Yankees could move some of their 40-man roster fringe players in a deal too. Try to consolidate maybe?
Sanchez is Fisk in his late 30’s. Low BA, homers a decent amount, OK defensively.
In short, he’s worth more to the team he’s on than he is to anyone else.
If Sanchez wants to remain behind the plate, he needs to work his butt off this offseason, lose 30 lbs and get into the best shape of his life. He’s bad at blocking balls and running the bases because he is clearly overweight and out of shape. I don’t know why his agent hasn’t pointed this out to him. If he refuses to do so, he is headed for a DH role at best. A slimmed down Sanchez could be appealing, but a sluggish Sanchez is just another below average power hitter. He’s literally losing $10’s of millions of dollars by staying in the physical condition he’s in now.
I’ve been characterizing Sanchez as having a low baseball IQ. Now I think it’s that with very poor situational awareness- he needs exactly what you said plus a couple others – lose weight (212 lbs), cut down strikeouts to 22%-25%,preform consistently behind the plate ( pick ur own metrics) and add enough plate discipline to raise OBP to .345
The Yankees should be held responsible for Sanchez. They have overcoached him. Just let the man catch. He had all these tools when you signed him. Then you changed everything. Why? If he was that bad behind the plate in AA why was his bat NOT moved to 1B at that time?
Just leave the man alone,let him show up in great shape. And leave him alone in the batters box as well.
The Rockies, Rangers, Phillies, and Marlins all would be good stops for Sanchez.. McCann is the smart play for catcher, not Realmuto or Molina. I would look to package Sanchez to the Rangers for Lynn, and add a lower level prospect.
Girardi isn’t going to want him.
Why can’t the Yankees keep Sanchez and sign Molina. Then Molina can help Sanchez with his defense I’m not sure what Sanchez makes per year but I don’t think it’s a lot. Look at what the Yankees pay Stanton
howie feltersnatch:
Not a bad idea, but the Yankees are not only interested in Molina, but willing to listen to trade proposals. If they wanted Molina to mentor Sanchez, they wouldn’t be sending out that message.
I think they are trying to light a fire under his butt. Added in with their most expensive pitcher having it in his mind that he needs another catcher, we will see what happens. I think they stay as is at catcher for 2021 – giving Higashioka multiple reps to live up to his potential.
Yankees are listening to offers? That’s hilarious. It should be, how much do they have to pay for some sucker take him.
I see you guys saying dh or bust. Hes supposed to haveba cannon arm, is Rf too much of a stretch? I haven’t seen him enough to know.
Fangraphs has Sanchez ranked as the 11th ranked catcher at 1,5 WAR, so there will be calls on him. If he ever returns to his early years production he will be a steal, if not he is still better than half the league.
What are you looking at? His fWAR in 2020 was -0.1.
Frangraphs projected WAR!
Hes a DH
Brought to you by the same people who said Clint Frazier is a DH.
Joe:
It’s a whole lot easier for a mediocre outfielder to get by, than it is for the most critical position on the field. And, though you don’t think he’s come up short, apparently the team does.
Look at the Rays, they took a chance on d”Arnuad and Zinno, and the Cards got rid of Voit and Arozerena!
Crazy to say…..but the bucs have had great success picking up catchers from the Yankees scrap heap (Russell Martin, Francisco cervelli, Chris Stewart). Surely, have financial room to add him, but sadly probably too cheap to do so
The shortened 2020 season might be the best thing the Yankees have going for them as they will be selling low; interested teams may think the sample size was too small to determine his total body of work and give him the benefit of the doubt. I would tend to think like that. That said, I’d imagine a number of teams would trade for Sanchez with capable catchers being few and far between. The team that gets him would see it as adding a FA on a one-year $5.5 mil deal with a team option for 2022. I cannot imagine a 27-y/o Sanchez is not worth at least that much as a FA.
It’s time for the Bombers to cut bait on Gary.It’s became apparent that he is not a smart ballplayer. He has not learned by his mistakes, he has not adapted to playing this game at this level. You don’t have to be a genius to play Major League Baseball, but you have to have the acumen to learn by mistakes, improve yourself, and take it to your game.
Apparently he does not even speak English well enough to even conduct an interview without a translator. After all of this time playing at advanced levels in a position where communication is the most important part of your game, I have a problem with that. This guy has more talent with the bat than most all of his peers, but has never been able to translate that over an extended period, or adjust to how he is pitched. If he were 21 or 22 you could wait a bit longer on him. His failure at the plate has affected his head behind the plate. The Yankees should be through waiting for Gary Sanchez to arrive.
Sanchez has a better upside than Travis d’ Arnuad and look what he has done since the Mets let him go, They wish they had him now!
It’s a real shame…Sanchez has a lot to offer …he’s just lazy. Girardi should have worked him harder. Too many passed balls.. too many strikeouts. Put him and Andujar and Garcia in a package and grab a starter. If the yanks can pull off Molina it would be amazing. He’s got higgy to catch Cole and get rest
Sanchez had Tony Pena working with him alonw with Girardi the first year when he was great. I think he needs a change of scenery, but in the long run he might be too big to catch. One thing for sure, he is at a crossroad in his career.
That’s the word I tried to avoid, L-A-Z-Y you’ll get calls of racism, but it’s true. Gary got a lot of cred his rookie debut and he’s tried to live off it for a long time. None of us know how talented he CAN be, his upside is tremendous. But “you “gotta wanna” and if you don’t work hard at it every day it never happens. Too bad Tony Pena wasn’t still around to kick his butt, or have Yogi around to mentor him.. But he’s not a kid anymore, if he hasn’t caught on to what he has to do yet, he likely never will..I was at Steinbrenner for opening day Spring of 2019, i believe, the first pitch he saw was a rocket into the left field stands. I hoped that was going to be a sign of good things, but if you’re going to carry a catcher hitting .230, he better be a master defensively, and he doesn’t try as hard as he should there either..
Sanchez is still a beast that could explode w power never before seen from the catcher position. He has to find a way to make more contact by cutting down his swing a bit. He’s over swinging every time. Keep Sanchez
I agree. I think he has a tendency to try too hard to obliterate the ball. He’s got the talent to make more contact. Plus he had more than enough raw power, the homers will come. It’s just hard to tell if his offensive future is salvageable. 2021 is the actual make or break year for him. My hope is the Yankees don’t give up on him too early.
At this point in Sanchez career, the Yankees are selling low. Maybe a lottery ticket. No team in their right mind is going to give a near ready or top 100 prospect for this guy.
This fiasco is all on Cashman. Sanchez was his decision to keep. Could have had JT for Sanchez and Andujar. Major flop by Cash.
Everybody talks about how much upside Sanchez has. But nobody is going to offer the Yankees nothing mower than a lottery ticket. So with so much upside why would you let a 5.5 million player go for some lottery ticket
As soon as Sanchez is traded, Yankee fans will say Sanchez is a bum and whoever they get is a future star. Remember Shed Long? Came to the Yankees for Sonny Gray. When he was a Yankee, Yankee fans said he was the next Cano… days later he’s traded and everyone forgets about him.
Someone’s projecting their own insecurity about the Yankees I see. Shed Long was an interesting prospect and we were happy to get him for Gray. We were ok with the guy he was traded for as well. Stop exaggerating or making one guy’s opinion equa an entire fanbases opinion.
The Nats would be great landing spot for Sanchez. They need a catcher.
Sanchez for Rob Refsnyder. Who says no?