The Yankees plan to tender a contract to catcher Gary Sanchez prior to tonight’s 7pm CT non-tender deadline, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets. As per the “37 percent” projection method used by MLBTR’s Matt Swart, Sanchez is projected to earn $5.5MM in his second trip through the arbitration process.
The idea of Sanchez as a non-tender candidate would have been unthinkable even a year ago, and yet it arose as a possibility in the wake of a disastrous 2020 season for the catcher. Sanchez hit only .147/.253/.365 over 178 plate appearances, continued to struggle defensively, and saw Kyle Higashioka mostly assume starting catcher duties down the stretch and into the Yankees’ postseason run.
Coming on the heels of a down year in 2018 and even a 2019 season that saw Sanchez post big power numbers but a .232 batting average and .316 OBP, there was some thought that the Yankees might just cut ties entirely with the former All-Star. With the Yankees rumored to be looking to duck under the luxury tax threshold, Sanchez’s salary would have been seen as expendable.
On the other hand, there was also sound reasoning in keeping Sanchez. $5.5MM isn’t a big cost for a player (especially a catcher) with Sanchez’s power potential, and he was certainly far from the only notable star who struggled within the small sample size of the 60-game 2020 campaign and all of the unusual circumstances surrounding the season. Getting rid of Sanchez would also mean that New York would’ve had to find a replacement behind the plate, which might have also been a costly endeavor unless the team signed a platoon-type to split time with Higashioka.
It still isn’t out the question that Sanchez could be traded before Opening Day, though finding a deal would be tricky. The Yankees surely wouldn’t want to move Sanchez when his value is at its lowest, though rival teams also obviously wouldn’t want to pay a premium given the catcher’s rough year.
A little surprised, a little not surprised. He seemed like he was going to be one of the best offensive threats in baseball just a couple of seasons ago. I get he struggled in 2020, but it was a sample size of less than 200 plate appearances. His defense is one of the main reasons many want him gone, or at least out from behind the plate, but metrics don’t hate him as much as some fans do. However this might be his last chance to solidify himself as the Yankees’ primary catcher.
Think about how many chances Bird got. Sanchez has at least been better than him.
Good point…
Would a Sanchez pick up for the Pirates be on the horizon? It wouldn’t hurt to have a platoon of Stallings and Sanchez
What a shocker
If Cashman doesn’t swing one helluva trade, he just spent a ton of money on a non-contributing player. And spent my faith in his master plan.
He was a 3.1 WAR player in the last normal year the league played. And he’s 28. This was never in serious doubt.
Fangraphs has Sanchez rated as the 11th best catcher, projected for a 1.5 WAR. Just shows how bad the catiching is in the MLB right now!
Don’t think 5.5M is a ton of money, at least not big enough of a amount to get rid of a guy that in the worse case can be a very good replacement catcher, in the best well an offensive force that can still improve his defense. But ye prolly his last chance
That username though. The irony.
Last chance Gary! Make the most of it!
Had to hold him. I’d still try to trade him.
They very well should for $5m then lose him at bargain basement prices. Platoon him with higgy and let him concentrate on offense then trade him at the deadline for some value if he shows something.
Nice job on the 1985 World Championship for the Royals.
Balboni was the Royals single season HR leader until recently…
There’s a party breaking out at Gary Sanchez’ house right now.
Seriously, it’s his birthday. What a present.
I think this is a mistake. I would have let him go.
Sprinkle some Bromelain on the big lug.
Yankees will never admit failure on one of their overhyped former prospects.
Your statement makes not sense in the context of their signing logic.
Blah. I hope it doesn’t stop them from pursuing another catcher because Gary may be done as a starting catcher at this point.
Called It!!!
Yankees are not angry enough to move on from Sanchez. They are still fine with his mediocre play and still on a cheap contract.
Well this most likely means they don’t sign JT
I’d much rather take a chance on McCann instead.
Realmuto wants over $20 million annually. Looking like he will sign with the Nationals or the Mets.
Shocking. This was an obvious move. You don’t release a 28 year old who hit 34 HRs a year ago. You just don’t, unless their OBP was like .280
Sanchez’ was .253, so… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
.316 in ‘19 with 34 HRs… you don’t toss that away because of an all around aberration of a less than half season. Nice job with the graphics though.
Not a surprise. I do not believe the Yankees will fetch much of a return in they are able to trade Sanchez but even a couple of lotto tickets is better than getting nothing for him. If not keep him and hope he somehow rediscovers his rookie form
Makes sense, if they cut Gary they lose leverage negotiating with other catchers on the Market. And if they can’t sign one then Gary can start. Maybe he regains his hitting abilities for a couple years ago and last year was a fluke due to the shortened season
Sanchez had an especially horrific BABiP in 2020. Only seven other players since the end of the dead ball era had a BABiP of .160 or lower in at least 175 at-bats, and one of them was Edwin Encarnacion this year, who was fine in 2019.
The others were mostly backup catchers, backup infielders, or washed up sluggers in their mid-30s. There simply is no precedent for a reasonably young, healthy, productive player hitting like Sanchez did this year, which makes it seem like an anomaly, one from which he can rebound.
At that price, it’s more than worthwhile to take that chance. A $5M flier on a player with his upside is nothing. It’s a rounding error in Yankeeland. It’s ridiculous we’re even discussing it.
Of course. Anyone who thought he was going to be non-tendered did not think it through.
A few years ago he was the best hitter on the team, he needs a change of scenery. Cashman dosn’t want to trade him when he is playing poorly, but he has no choice. I see him being moved and the Yanks signing McCann. The Marlins, Rockies, Phillies, and Rangers all would be interested in him.
He needs to be a platoon DH
Lololol…… lol. Oh, ehem. You were serious.
except he can’t even hit anymore either he’s fished.
Would of been extra tough if they non-tendered him on his birthday lol
I am fine with this for a few reasons:
1. The Yankees know what his problems are and will account for that in building their roster, no matter what. They can rotate him through the DH position and use Higashioka or sign someone expensive to rotate through catcher and various other positions just in case, if need be.
2. Sanchez knows what his problems are and one of the reasons he is playing Winter Ball is certainly to try and improve his weaknesses and rediscover any skill sets that gave the Yankees faith in his long term potential in the first place. He has been in the organization for YEARS. I remember hearing about him six or seven years before he debuted in the majors, so the Yankees have invested in him heavily for over a decade now- why give up at this point?
3. He’s got two years of team control left and Sanchez’s stock could not be lower, so trading him would not yield what he is potentially worth and paying him will still be cost effective, given that if DFA’d someone would snatch him up for his bat’s potential and he’d probably get 1 year/$5.5M easily, if not 2 years/$15M on the open market right now.
4. 2020 was a weird season for a lot of players and a lot of players had subpar performances and I believe the Yoga Berra quote to be oddly true, that baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical- meaning Sanchez’s problems are largely in his head and can be fixed with some fresh re=training and a normal length season in 2021.
5. It’s the Yankees. They can afford to swallow the $5.5M salary if they’re forced to DFA him at some point in the season. Not every team has this luxury and yes, the Yankees lost more money than any other club last season, but they’re in no way broke and this isn’t a long term problem that’s gonna chip away at their financial might any more than it will other clubs, so it all equals out financially in the end.
6. Sanchez has had a couple of seasons with a respectable average and 2 1/3 seasons of good to great average plus on base percentage. I don’t think he’s incapable of recapturing that skill set if he somehow can push re-start in his own head and get lucky at the same time and be properly re-trained and IF he can get to even 70% of his former potential, he’s worth $5.5M and a roster spot.
Michael K talked about this in detail on his show today and believed the problem was they were overloading him with so much information regarding what he needed to do behind the plate that it affected his hitting. If you remove 2020 which you can because even sluggers like JD Martinez had a horrible 2020 in 2019 he hit 34 homeruns had over 20 in an injury plagued 2018 and then 33 in 2017. Many people believe they need to take the Mike Piazza approach and just focus on what he does with the bat. Don’t overload him with so much information and just let him be Gary and just see the ball and hit the ball.
Yeah, they messed a whole lot with his catching. I think they changed way too much at one time. Piazza was a way better catcher all around though to be honest, there’s just no comparison. But I think if they could just get him back to hitting and then work on one complement from his natural catching posture, like blocking the ball, and let him progress on his own terms. Or , you have to trade him. There is no in between with him.
Idk about anyone else but this didn’t surprise me.
What would Sanchez bring back in a trade? At best he’s a DH, and an inconsistent one at that. Yankees will just keep him and hope for the best.
In 2018, he ranked in the 21st tier on StatCast’s Catcher Framing Leaderboard in Runs From Extra Strikes, tied with Bobby Wilson and Martin Russell, and above Buster Posey and Christian Vazquez.
He ranked 17th in Strike Rate, better than Posey, Maldonado, Martin, Realmuto and Vazquez.
He was tied for 6th in Pop Time.
His 4 DRS put him in the 7th rank among catchers with at least 650 innings, and he ranked 9th in Def.
He was a good defensive catcher then. What happened? Injuries maybe; and this year, apparently disastrous coaching by people making him squat on one knee.
If he was that good before, he can be that good again. Add to that his elite power, and I think you’re underestimating what he’d bring back in trade, especially given that he’s under control until 2023.
It´s not a bad investment for the Yankees. It’s 5M for a guy that was worth 3 WAR in 3 of his last 4 full seasons. At the going rate it´s a no brainer unless you buy that there´s absolutely no way back for him
Tank mode in full force!