There was hope that when the New York Yankees called up Gary Sanchez that he’d be the team’s backstop of the future. Sanchez showed plenty of pop — he hit 33 home runs in 2017 in his first full season in the Bronx, and 34 in 2019 — but was also a defensive liability. He committed double-digit errors in those seasons, and was responsible for 18 passed balls in 2018, and 16 the year prior.
Fans could maybe overlook some of that when he was clubbing homers.
But his power seemingly disappeared, as he never reached that 30 HR mark again.
it all came crashing down. His 2020 numbers were dogshit — .147/.253/.365 — and Gerrit Cole wouldn’t even pitch to him. (Kyle Higashioka instead worked as the ace’s batterymate.)
In March 2022, New York shipped him and Gio Urshela to Minnesota in exchange for Josh Donaldson, IKF, and Ben Rortvedt.
Sanchez only spent one season in the Twin Cities, putting together a .205/.282/.377 slash line. Back in December, his agent blamed his poor 2022 with the Twins on the catcher’s former club.
“The most important aspect of the 2022 season was that at the end of the season, Gary was able to finally and completely shake off the emotional baggage he had acquired during his previous two seasons with the Yankees,” Francisco Marquez said.
“Some things didn’t go the way they were supposed to, but the past is the past,” Sanchez recently said of his Yankee tenure.
An eventful 2023 for Sanchez
Sanchez, 30, is now on his third team this season. In March, he signed a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants. He opted out of his contract after hitting .164/.319/.182 in 16 games with San Fran’s Triple-A squad. He inked a minor league deal with the Mets, and hit well enough to get a call-up. That lasted all of three games and seven plate appearances before being DFA’d.
Now he’s San Diego’s problem.
“It’s looking at the catcher spot, trying to get more production from that position,” Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller said. “Gary’s been on good teams in New York, he’s been a two-time All-Star. I think, at the age of 30, he still has some physical ability. I think it’s a low-cost acquisition, a chance to just have something different from that spot. And Gary brings arm strength, has some bat ability. We’re going to kind of see how that factors in with our club here in the next couple weeks.”
Not the only ex-Yankee to be designated for assignment
In other ex-Yankee news, the Brewers DFA’d Luke Voit. He hit .221 in 22 games with Milwaukee. New York traded him to San Diego last season.
Clint Frazier has managed to play in eight games (through May 30) with the White Sox, while Greg Bird remains in obscurity.