Currently tied at one win apiece, the Yankees and Rays will meet for Game 3 of the ALDS on Wednesday. New York won’t have Gary Sanchez behind the plate, as it benched him in favor of Kyle Higashioka after an 0-for-4, three-strikeout performance in Game 2, Marly Rivera of ESPN was among those to report. And it doesn’t appear Sanchez will have a stranglehold on the position going forward. Rather, manager Aaron Boone said the situation’s “day to day.”
This is the second time in the series the Yankees have sat Sanchez in favor of the typically light-hitting Higashioka, who has taken over as ace and Game 1 starter Gerrit Cole’s personal catcher. The Yankees are slated to pitch Masahiro Tanaka on Wednesday, but Higashioka will nonetheless don the tools of ignorance.
Considering the torrid pace he was on earlier in his career, which started in earnest in 2016, it’s a surprise Sanchez is no longer the Yankees’ easy choice at catcher. He was an excellent hitter through 2017, but his numbers declined significantly the next year before a bounce-back 2019 effort. However, the 27-year-old could only manage a .147/.253/.365 line with 10 home runs in 178 plate appearances during the 2020 regular season. Behind the plate, Sanchez threw out a league-average 26 percent of would-be base stealers but only finished in the 39th percentile in the framing category, per Statcast, and he led the AL in passed balls for the third time in four years.
Regardless of how this season ends for the World Series hopeful Yankees, it’ll be interesting to see whether they continue to place their faith in Sanchez, who has two years of arbitration eligibility left. The lone slam dunk improvement over Sanchez on the free-agent market will be the Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto, who should easily exceed $100MM on his contract. The Yankees do have the financial might to sign him if they’re dissatisfied with Sanchez, though.
For now, it remains to be seen whether Sanchez will start again in this series, but if he’s back in the lineup in Game 4, he’ll work with left-hander Jordan Montgomery. Boone said Montgomery, who had a rough time keeping runs off the board in the regular season, will take the ball in that contest, Lindsey Adler of The Athletic relays.
Tonight is the key game in this series. If the Rays win tonight, they’ll take the series in 4. If the Yankees win tonight, they’ll take the series in 5 games.
I’m a yankee fan it’s hard to say rays will win the series in four or five
No it’s not. They are quite capable of beating the Yankees.
That’s too bad. You never wanna see a player go down so far they’re replaced. I just wonder if the job of catching has worn him down. I always admired Sanchez from a distance(Boston/Redsox).
Yes, look up Russell Martin’s Dodger career, although he was dealing with injury towards the end. It seems like Sanchez just forgot to hit
I don’t think he’s a true talent .156 hitter. When he’s right physically and mentally he’s a very dangerous hitter. I don’t think the new catching coach and catching style is working all that well with him. His pitch framing is better but the progress he was making in blocking pitches has regressed due to the reduced mobility of having one leg down. Game calling is fine and his arm is outstanding. On the offensive side, he’s fallen into some bad habits the last couple of seasons, resulting in a dead pull, all or nothing approach. He’s become increasingly frustrated causing him to expand the zone, swinging at bad pitches while fouling off good pitches to drive. I’ve been a big supporter, but it might be time for him to have a new start somewhere else.
I think Realmuto’s FA came at a perfect time. I think you’re right about a new start. He is a fearsome hitter when he’s right. Could be nagging minor injuries have held him hostage.
I remember proposing a Sanchez for Realmuto trade straight up before the trading deadline of 2018 when the Marlins were shopping him. Yankee fans killed me saying “oh but Sanchez’s got all this potential” or he”ll work it out His catching probems. “. Bet they wish they had JT rhe last 2 1/2 years.
Maybe he would be better off at Dh. He could just concentrate on hitting. The Cather position can really wear you down
Too young to full-time DH?
For the Yankees he is, yes. Not necessarily because of age but because too many DH types already. Stanton, Andjuar, etc.
The Yankees never should of pulled Garcia last night. They never should of brought back Happ this season. The Yankees needed to sign 2 starters Cole and possibly MadBum or Wheeler. Cashman needed to get a relief pitcher at the deadline after Kanle went down. Why is Mike Ford on the roster if you don’t have him pinch hit for Sanchez late in the game. Boone was hired to win a WS who cares about Sanchez getting his feelings hurt. He’s a liability in all aspects. Now the Yankees may have to come back and depend on Garcia for possibly game 4.
By never brought back Happ you mean just release him and eat the 17M he was under contract for?
He only got 9 starts this season, he needed 10 to activate his contract for 2021.
Nobody pulled Garcia. Happ was warming before the first pitch; some number crunchers in a board room or some computer algorithm told them to pitch Garcia for 1, then Happ for 3.
I agree it was the wrong move, just saying nobody pulled Garcia. If he’d pitched a 3-pitch first inning, Happ still would have come in.
The right move would have been to start Tanaka in game 2, and Garcia in game 3 if they were up 2-0, Happ if they were tied 1-1 or down 0-2.
I agree with you
He was pulled. Who you decide to blame it on using your psychic powers means absolutely nothing.
@emac, being a d*ck doesn’t win you any points. Shove off.
Of course you do, Shaun, because you are smart.
Nothing here gets anyone any points loser.
Find a clue and hold on tight!
Emac, you sound like you’re 10 years old.
emac, I give you 10 points for that comment.
Never should have started him. Start Happ and trust your hitters.
@luckyh
I don’t know, I kind of like starting Garcia in Game 2. Maybe not what i’d have done, but coming off the heels of a big Game 1 win, there’s a lot less pressure on Deivi that way, and I can see the logic if that were the “why”.
I don’t agree with the logic of only giving him one inning because you are trying to outsmart the Rays, though.
5 game series the pressure is never off. Look where they are now. Rays are feasting on Yanks’ pitching.
MadBum had a 9 era this season
That move bit Boone in his ass. Happ was really bad. How much worse could the kid have been? Baaaad move really baaaaad.
And you should HAVE never written SHOULD’VE incorrectly.
He is losing his job because he’s not hitting. They are willing to put up with his defensive issues if he hits.
Totally agreed. I’ve been his biggest defender, but with Realmuto sitting out there, it will be hard to not sign him just because Sanchez is still on the team.
Now, if they don’t want to sign Realmuto, fine, but even if they don’t sign JT (or any catcher), Sanchez seems to have lost all his good will, all the benefit of the doubt, and will need to absolutely rake in spring training to get the starting job.
If I were the Yankees, i’d ask him to accept a demotion to the minors for the year to get himself right. If he doesn’t accept, make him the backup catcher/pinch hitting bench player.
pjc1966:
Exactly. When a bat first catcher doesn’t do the one thing he’s in the game for, he has to be replaced. Even if the good defensive catcher doesn’t hit, you’re still better off than you are with the lesser defender who also doesn’t hit.
Did the guy who did this article literally call Higgy “Light hitting“? Willing to put money on he has not watched many Yankees games LOL
Yes. His lifetime average is .186.
10 home runs in 194 plate appearances and a career .186 average. 2020 was his best year by far, and he was 12-48 for a .250 average. He’s 3-9 with 1 home run in the postseason so far. Tell us again how he’s not light hitting?
Actually….. while those numbers are from a very small sample size – most any team would take that production from a starting catcher.
.250 BA .521 slugging, .771 OPS
One decent stretch doesn’t all of a sudden mean he’s a slugger. 12 seasons in the minors and he has a 727 OPS. He’s hot right now so you keep playing him, but he’s more of a light hitter than he’s not.
You’re using his rookie numbers as a backup catcher that played sparingly.
What your numbers imply is that, this year over a full season, he was on pace to hit 0.250 with 25+ home runs?
He’s not Prime Gary Sanchez, but he can certainly hit much much more than the typical backup catcher. I would definitely not call him Light Hitting.
Gary Sanchez also isn’t prime Gary Sanchez
Even if you want to take out the horrible start in 2017, he had a 53 wRC+ in 2018 and a 65 mark last season. That’s not “typically light hitting”?
I think you mean RailRiders games.
K-Higs moment of “good hitting” has been all of 42 AB’s when you look at his splits. I’m surprised the writer has to defend his statement that he is “light hitting”. If you didn’t have that very..VERY small sample size, you would have no point to argue from.
I think Sanchez is a solid rebound candidate next year
That’s a bold statement.
I would love Yankees to sign JTR. However, if they are reluctant to spend pitching needs to be the priority.
The Yankees have screwed up this kid so bad.
Just give him a weight line to show up to spring training at and leave him alone. No catching advice nor a hitting coach.
And stay away from JT. He will be toast in three years.
Sure why not eat 17M from Happ. The Yankees have a printing press and can outspend most teams. If they are counting every penny then fire the entire scouting staff for not being able to develop their own starting pitchers. They don’t have Sevy, German. Hopefully next year will be different but it’s doubtful. The Yankees don’t have the balls to get rid of Sanchez, and injury prone Judge. The lineup has way too holes. They desperately need more contact hitters enough for swinging for the fences everytime. If Boone is being managed by committee shame on him. Start managing with your gut and forget about analytics.
I hope the phillies don’t let him get away, they gotta over pay to keep him. Yanks could go try for Bauer but he might flop like Gray
Well, hell.
I’ve been pro Gary forever. He’s certainly making it tougher this year.
I see why the front office is doing this (although their genius can be called into question after last night’s absurdity).
Dunno.
I’ve always been a “dance with the girl that brung ya” kinda guy. Gary’s had a brutal year at the plate.
Hard to argue otherwise.
But.
So did Yellich. & Bellinger. To name a couple. Was a weird season. I know Higgy had that 3 jack game. I still think Sanchez can go on one of his red hot streaks & win you a couple games.
That’s not nothin.
Guess we’ll see.
It does indicate a position change is needed. Maybe he’d get healthy enough to hit again.
I can’t believe it took this long for them to notice that he’s a .150 hitter without a clue at the plate.. It’s unfair to the pitchers who have to work with him and the team.
Glad to see he is struggling, cannot stand him after he took a cheap shot in a brawl a year or so ago, which illustrated his character and lack there of.,
Sanchez has horrible work ethic
Can’t have a hitting catcher who can’t catch and can’t hit.
If both can’t hit, might as well go with the better defensive catcher.
Do you think Gary Sanchez, Domingo German and Miguel Andujar will be traded this off-season?
“Tools of ignorance”?
1960 called; they want their cliche back.
Higashioka has a career 6.69 ERA catching Tanaka.
I can hope that all 3 is traded but traded for what and who. All 3 the values can’t get any lower. I would say trade Stanton and eat half the money but no one wants him. That’s the problem alot of guys to trade with zero value. If Yankees don’t win a WS this year or next it’s time for Cashman to go.
mlbnyyfan:
“I would say trade Stanton and eat half the money but no one wants him.”
It’s not about whether anyone wants Stanton. He can’t be traded, at least not without his consent. The only reason the NYYs have Stanton is because his no-trade clause allowed him to reject trades to SF and StL, only agreeing to accept a trade to NY. Hard to believe he would accept a trade away from NY.
Ironic isn’t it?
The good news is they can buy him out for $10M after the 2027 season. And, no, I doubt he opts out. But at least the Marlins have to pay $30M when he doesn’t opt out.
Boone’s boner in game 2 sank the Yanks. Terrible idea. Tanaka is a man of pride and you skip his start on a whim? The result in game 3 speaks volumes…
Boone’s bonehead move in game 2 sank the Yanks. Terrible idea. Tanaka is a man of pride and you skip his start on a whim? The result in game 3 speaks volumes…
Gary was once a great promise but it wouldn’t hurt much if the Yankees didn’t resign him this off season. He may do well once or twice in the future but not worth the risk. The problem remains is whom we should replace him with. Should have never let go Romine last year…
That’s definitely a huge problem if they get rid of Gary who replaces him. You are correct getting rid of Romine was a mistake. They could of easily had Romine and Higgy share the position. Maybe they bring him back I think he’s on a one year contract with the Tigers.
Yankee will NOT win a World Series as long as Brett Gardner is on this team. – Louiebeans 2010.
2010 No WS win
2011 No WS win
2012 No WS win
2013 No WS win
2014 No WS win
2015 No WS win
2016 No WS win
2017 No WS win
2018 No WS win
2019 No WS win
2020
Brett Gardner has patrolled LF and CF in stadium since 2009. His WS stats that year zero over zeros.
Gardner and so many other players
Hate to break this to you but Brett Gardner has a World Series ring LMAO all of you Yankees haters crack me up.
Yankees need a proven #2 starter for ‘21. This years playoffs prove that. Tanaka is done. Gotta figure that Sanchez is a good trade for a pitcher.
Status quo of bullpen won’t cut it either. Get a look at Braves and Tampa to learn from Cashman!
I am sure they will get a solid #2 starter for a guy who hit.156 and plays lousy defense. In addition he has a “great” attitude.
You have to wonder if the organizations lightening up on the status of Sanchez has anything to do with the impending free agency of JT