The Mets announced Thursday that they’ve claimed veteran second baseman Yolmer Sanchez off waivers from the Red Sox and opened a spot on the roster by designating catcher Patrick Mazeika for assignment.
The 30-year-old Sanchez is a former Gold Glove winner at second base who never got going with the bat in his brief time with the Red Sox. In a small sample of 37 plate appearances, he went just 4-for-37 with an 11.4% walk rate, 29.5% strikeout rate and no extra-base hits.
Sanchez’s peak years with the bat came in 2017-18 with the White Sox, when he posted a combined .253/.312/.390 batting line while playing second base on a near-everyday basis. Granted, even that career-best production was about nine percent worse than league-average, by measure of wRC+, but for a player with Sanchez’s speed and defensive skills, that was plenty to make him a solid regular. His line dipped to .252/.318/.321 in 2019, but Sanchez also won a Gold Glove that year, so the Sox likely didn’t mind the tepid output at the plate.
In the time since winning that Gold Glove, though, Sanchez has barely seen the Majors. He logged just 21 plate appearances with the ChiSox during the shortened 2020 season and spent the 2021 season with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate where he posted a grisly .216/.309/.352 line in 355 plate appearances. Things were going much better for Sanchez with Boston’s Triple-A club, for whom he’d turned in a .247/.377/.413 line in 305 trips to the plate.
The Mets’ infield is banged up at the moment, with Luis Guillorme out as long as six weeks and Eduardo Escobar on the injured list due to an oblique strain. New York recently called up top infield prospect Brett Baty to man the hot corner — Baty homered in his first MLB at-bat last night — and have Francisco Lindor, Jeff McNeil and Pete Alonso to round out the infield. Guillorme’s absence takes away the Mets’ primary backup to Lindor at shortstop, however, but Sanchez can give them a capable bench option to back up any of Baty, Lindor and McNeil while they work toward getting back to better health.
As for Mazeika, the 28-year-old has had some brief looks with the Mets over the past two seasons but has never provided anything with the bat. He’s a .190/.236/.279 hitter in 159 plate appearances at the MLB level. Mazeika does have a more palatable .272/.367/.414 output in parts of two Triple-A seasons, and the Mets have been pleased with his defensive skills. He’ll be placed on waivers within a week. Any team that claims Mazeika could option him freely in 2022, but he’ll be out of minor league options next season.
Mazeika is a waste can Sanchez play SS?
He can play all over the infield. Good glove, crappy bat. You could do worse for a utility IF. Good pickup.
Also great guy for celebrations. Known to dump Gatorade buckets on himself in anticipation.
Not sure, but he does have a gold glove at second and has also played third.
Sanchez can play a great 2nd base and decent SS too but his bat is just plain awful. He was brutal in the Boston lineup; instant rally killer. I’m not sure if the Mets need a defensive replacement in late innings or not, but that would be his best role. A spot start here and there won’t hurt the Mets too badly, but they don’t want to get in a position where Sanchez has to play every day for an extended period of time. That is when he really starts to hurt a ball club.
Can the red sox trade them Plawecki too, on an outright wavier release? I’m not sure why he has a job. He can’t hit and doesn’t throw a soul out. He’s boarderline worthless unless he’s an over paid bullpen catcher. That should be his job at this point
I went on Twitter and some Braves fans actually think deGrom will be a brave next year. I didn’t think you guys could get any more comical lol.
It’s not utterly outside the possibility deGrom goes to the Braves or other team like the Dodgers
Hes from the south and might like the southern lifestyle
Also, possibly theres some resentment how the Mets management have handled things over the years
Not saying any of that is true or will happen, just saying theres definitely that possibility
Right now, Devon Marrero is the infield back up. Sanchez is significantly better than him defensively, and about equal with him offensively
Wouldn’t exactly say Atlanta is the southern lifestyle, unless go 30m from center of it in any direction, then see what being and living in the south is all about from this lifelong southerner.
Taking the Atlanta bypass is actually getting too close to Atlanta, which is a shame, was a decent place years ago, even underground Atlanta was safe to visit and not crime infested.
It’ll take you 4 hrs to get 30 mins outside of Atlanta. I’d rather drive the LIE any day than try to get from one end of ATL to the other.
The Braves play 30 minutes outside the city. Real easy to get too but Degrom isn’t going there.
No. This isn’t true at all. The only way he won’t be a Met is if he didn’t like to be a met. I don’t know what’s going on in his head but I find it not likely.
Why don’t you comment on Twitter instead of here at MLB Trade Rumors? You’re clogging up the inter webs with unnecessary diatribe. It’s inconsequential what Braves fans think and it’s equally inconsequential what Mets fans think about what Braves fans are thinking. Now I’ve got to go see what Yankee fans are thinking.
The Braves payroll will already be well north of 200 m. They are not signing Degrom for 50+.
He grew up a Braves fan but there is no way Atlanta gives him 3+ years at $40m a year which is what he wants. He wants the Scherzer deal.
Exactly. Braves let the face of the franchise Freddie Freeman walk over a few million a year but they’re somehow going to throw $40+ million a year at deGrom? Laughable.
I could see some other team throwing a sky-high offer at deGrom, but not the Braves.
@RCT
False. Braves did not let Freeman walk at all. You Mets fans have so much trouble with the truth, you make things up, that is how deluded you really are. Freeman was offered a contract by the Braves, Freeman had a pen, he could have signed at anytime, he didn’t. It’s pathetic how you deluded Mets fans lie.
You’re the idiot, Fred
@Alproof
Don’t let facts get in the way of your moronic comments, moron.
Atlanta has a need in the rotation but it’s not going to be a big name with a big contract seeing how there is still a hole at shortstop. Shortstop is the main priority. If Walker opts out than that is more reasonable imo.
And Judge can easily be a Met or Dodger or Giant. It’s gonna be wild offseason
@TheRealMetsFan22 troll
It might be better to be ‘comical’ than applauding injuries to Braves players.
And of course you, TheRealMetsFan22, ‘know’ exactly what De Grom is doing in 2023 and beyond, sure you do.
Any team that offers DeGrom more than a 2 year contract is nuts
There would be at least ten teams that would do it in a heart beat.
Whoever signs deGrom needs to add the “John Lackey” clause to his contract where if he misses an entire season due to injury, they get an extra year tacked on for free. Boston did this with Lackey and sure enough, he went down for an entire season. I don’t think any team is going to sign him for 3/$120M+ without some sort of protection around injury. They will obviously insure his contract but the premium on that policy will be huge ($5M-$10M) given his recent injury history and his age. Some additional protection will be needed if a team is going to shell out that much money for deGrom.
Might be Mcneil headed to the IL for his cut finger issue
Actually thought Andrus would be picked up over Sanchez. But hopefully we never ‘need’ either of them.
LOLMets collapse is coming!
Not until after the weekend though.
With the easiest schedule in baseball in September? Good luck.
LOL some people have no other enjoyment from life other than wishing the Mets and Met fans bad luck.
I was hoping the Mets would have gotten Elvis Andrus who Chicago picked up?
Wonder if they had a shot and or even tried.
Fun to see Baty hit a HR in his first AB
Strange to Mazeika is better than keeping Michael Perez
We’re used to it. I’ve experienced it all my life from those those abusive, arrogant, entitled Yankee fans I have to live around and reluctantly interact with here.
A Mets / Dodgers NLCS could be an all-time classic so long as deGrom & Scherzer stay healthy. LA losing Walker Buehler for the season certainly hurts them but in true Dodgers fashion, they sign an under performing free agent who ends up being a star for them (Tyler Anderson is this year’s gem). LA should also be getting Dustin May back too; which would be huge for them. I feel like these teams are quite even, with the exception of the closer role. LA can’t go into the NLCS with Kimbrel being their 9th inning guy. He’s way to unpredictable to depend on. Perhaps they bring May back as a bullpen arm at first and eventually move him into the closer role for the playoffs. His long term position is obviously a starting pitcher but he could prove to be extremely valuable out of the pen the remainder of this year and that would also help keep his innings down coming off of major surgery.
With all that said, beware of the Cardinals. They are playing great baseball right now and could get hot for a 5 game NLDS series, knocking one of these teams out of playoffs. Also, you can’t discount Atlanta or Philadelphia either. Both teams have the pitching and hitting to knock either one of these teams out in a 5 game series. The National League playoffs should be must watch TV this season. They will be much more competitive than the first two rounds of the AL playoff series.
You overlooked the Braves.
I really like the Mets and any team that values defensive players.
I like Mazeika and wish we could keep him. That said, it makes sense to let him go. With McCann and Nido on the Major League roster there is no room for Mazeika and he will be out of minor league options next year.
With infield depth needed, he’s the right choice to dfa. Same went for Plummer as he and Lee are similar players. One had to go when Jankowski was reacquared.
As far DeGrom, it makes sense to overpay and keep him on the Mets. The Seaver trade still haunts Mets fans. It may be too big of a risk for another team to overpay for him.
Heard Jeff Kent has been working out at the local high school and is looking pretty good!
I’m still dumbfounded how Mazeika made it to the major leagues. Nothing against him him but I don’t get it.