The Yankees have largely stuck by catcher Gary Sanchez during what has been an up-and-down career, but it’s possible that could change before next season. Asked Wednesday about Sanchez’s status, general manager Brian Cashman was not willing to commit to him as the team’s No. 1 catcher going forward. Cashman said (via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com) that it’s “certainly a fair question” whether Sanchez will remain the Yankees’ main backstop. The Yankees plan to evaluate the position during the offseason.
Sanchez began his career with a flourish in 2016, smacking 20 home runs and slashing .299/.376/.557 in 229 plate appearances, but his offense and defense have been inconsistent since then. Sanchez was a big-hitting catcher as recently as 2019, but the 27-year-old slumped to a .147/.253/.365 line with 10 homers over 178 PA during this past regular season. He also led the AL in passed balls and finished in the majors’ 37th percentile in framing (per Statcast), though he did throw out a respectable 27 percent of would-be base stealers.
While the Yankees may be souring on Sanchez, whom they sat in the playoffs on multiple occasions, alternatives aren’t easy to find. J.T. Realmuto would represent an upgrade and a major splash on the open market, but the only starting-caliber catcher available after him in free agency will be James McCann. The Yankees do have Kyle Higashioka, ace Gerrit Cole’s personal catcher, on their roster, but he hasn’t shown he’s capable of an everyday role. So, barring a $100MM-plus Realmuto signing, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Yankees keep Sanchez on their roster for 2021 in his second year of arbitration eligibility. He earned a prorated $5MM this season.
Shocker. I’d reevaluate the GM position also.
Couldn’t agree more I don’t get how cash man has this long of a leash. Does anyone expect a team with a payroll north of 200mil not to make the playoffs? They should win a lot more then they do
I don’t know if this is sarcasm or not. You do realize the 1-4 seeds in the AL were the Rays, A’s, Twins and Indians?
Yeah poor Yankees for only making the playoffs with a $200MM payroll, says this bitterly sour Phillies fan.
No team had a $200M payroll in 2020.
The Yankees and Dodgers were 1 & 2 with respective payrolls of $109,439,081 and $107,917,397.
The Phillies were second in payroll in the NL with a total payroll of $78,643,547.
That’s silly, Cashman is a top 5 GM in the league. Competitive team and in the playoffs every season. Really can’t ask for more from the GM chair
Its easy when you have unlimited resources, not so much for k.c. pitts and every little town team
Yankees fan here. Couldn’t agree more
You could ask for more than one WS in the last 19 years. It’s not that easy, but they have only had one WS appearance in 16 years. 17 teams have made a WS appearance over that time frame.
Says the guy whose team went 86 years without winning a WS… 4 in the last 16 years is impressive but that’s a short span in the scope of baseball…
What does the former 86 year not winning have to do with anything? What is your point?
So he is a Red Sox fan so you feel he cannot be critical of Cashman because the Red Sox at one point years ago went 86 years without winning? Thus Cashman is doing a good job? Huh?
By the way the Red Sox have had much more success than your Yankees the past 16 years in the modern age my man! Blows them away.
Yankees won many pennants when winning the pennant was the same as winning an 8 man division. Big deal. They would win a division and then be in the world series. Like before you were born. Who cares. Red Sox own the Yankees.
No that’s a short scope for Yankee fans. If they don’t win the World Series every year the season was considered a bust but that goes to show you yankee fans think because they have such a high payroll they should win every year. Yankees are the team you should avoid to be throws money at problems and when they don’t work out they can afford to eat it unlike most ballclubs. Sh-t Yankees fans don’t know how good they have it but want cash man gone.
They are gonna deplete their farm system and throw money at the problem and hope they can make it past the alds and cs for once in 5 years.
Isn’t that every team, I thought all teams considered the year a failure if they didn’t win the work series. Thought that was kind of the point
Excuse me? The Yankees are 23-6 over the Red Sox over the last 2 years. The Red Sox are dust under the Yankees feet.
Sure you can ask for a lot more from your GM who can buy any player. How about asking him to win a championship?
James McCann? I like Higashioka, and I think that they could pair up fairly well.
Josh Phegley?
McCann and Higashioka would be a fantastic backstop team
no way they get rid of Sanchez via anything but a trade for something of actual value. one bad year (during 2020, no less) doesnt make him chopped liver in general.
One bad year? Have you checked on his defense or batting average in the past? The batting average can be overlooked at the catcher position but he’s awful behind the plate.
Agreed. I was once a huge supporter of Gary Sanchez but he has worn out his welcome. Terrible defense and a HR or nothing, usually nothing. I’ll take Higgy every day of the week over “Sanchize”. But we can do even better than that and I hope we do. One title in 20 years is absolutely unacceptable for the New York Yankees. Hell, 4 titles in 20 years is not acceptable but apparently Hal is content with that. His Father is rolling over in his grave at this eye popping boobism displayed by the Yankees for so long now. How sad is it when the Tampa Bay Rays are a better organization than the legendary New York Yankees?
It’s been 2 bad years out of the last three offensively. And his defense has been questionable at best in all three.
At almost $10 mil a year nobody is going to trade any value for this guy.
The Yankees may be better off holding him next year. If the NL adopts the DH in the next CBA that opens up some trade opportunities for Sanchez.
Possibly but that would cost them almost $10 million. A big commitment when there is no guarantee fans will be allowed back in next year as well.
They won’t get much in the way of value. Omar Narvaez was better offensively over that 2 year period before he was traded.
He has only had one good year and that was only with the bat!
HE SUCKS
One bad year? Do you have any clue what you’re even talking about? He’s hit well below the Mendoza Line two of the past three seasons. His slash line has been awful in those three seasons.
Not saying you are necessarily wrong. But – its a very small sample size to make a complete decision. He had a terrible season, but by WAR he ranked as the 16th catcher. And – while being below the Mendoza line says a lot – he has been one of the better catchers over a cumulative 3 years and a couple months.
He’s simply not a major league catcher.
Willson Contreras has two years of control and available for duty
that could work, Cubs can put Caratini at Catcher and also have Miguel Amaya who eventually will take over.
Pitch framing actually improved this year for Contreras and would be a monster in that stacked lineup for the Yankees, but Contreras will not be cheap and Cubs don’t need to trade him so Yankees would have to give up a bit to make a deal.
I would think the Cubs would want Clarke Schmidt or Garcia to start any talks as Cubs two rotation spots they would need to fill after Darvish, Hendricks and Alozlay this offseason.
I’m really to bet the Yankees take a stab at Jett
Jtr
Who in Left Field Gardner again? If so chalk another no WS.
Lol 20 years from now, when the yanks finally win another series and Gardner is almost 60 years old, ol’ beans here will still claim he was the reason for so many disappointments.
My question would be how you going to replace the games Gardner actually had to play? with Judge and Stanton ALWAYS on the IL and your primary CF Hicks only playing 100 games 2x in 8 years career, Judge playing over half the season 1x in his career, Stanton playing 40 out of a possible 220 regular season games. because right now that totals to roughly 1 player for 3 places including one where you should have a solid defender?
Or is tyler wade your answer to that? Maybe bring back Refsnyder? Oh i know put Sanchez in CF he will play and hit better from there.
Why do you have such a hatred for the one guy that comes in does a solid job and very rarely misses a game over a pretty length career.
Am i saying pay the moon for Gardner no, is he nearing the end yes .. and is he still a solid 4th / regular rotation outfielder that WILL BE AVAILABLE DAY IN AND OUT. yes..
What’s your deal with Gardner. Can you name a better 4th outfielder who gives you good defense, good base running, and average or better offense on a consistent basis? You need Gardner more than you think. Like Roll said, Stanton, Judge and Hicks haven’t played a full season in at least two years. Judge not since 2017. Tachman is another solid option, but he regressed from his 2019 high, and you know what you’re getting with Garner. Solid produciton year in and year out.
I don’t get the Gardner hate either, he is a 4th outfielder who has played the role very well throughout his entire career.
Gardner is not going anywhere. I have no idea why anyone thinks he will. He plays all 3 OF positions, still runs well, can actually hit the ball the other way with 2 strikes & is reasonably cheap in todays game.
More importantly with Gardner, he is a fantastic left fielder and a very good center fielder who has filled in when hicks got hurt. Without Gardner, who was playing CF all those games the last couple years? I don’t understand the hate for Gardner. Guy has been nothing but solid.
louiebeans. I like Gardner. He plays hard. Always seems to hurt the jays
This is coming from a lifelong Yankees fan, Gary Sanchez just is not a catcher at the major-league level. Now, if word got out that Cashman with fielding offers his phone would probably be ringing off the hook with teams in search of a designated hitter or someone open to teaching him first base. We are going to find out soon how open they are to life without Gary Sanchez when we see if the Yankees are active in pursuing JT
The Yankees won’t spend money on JT. They have way too many holes in their pitching staff that they will need to spend money on. With their lineup they don’t need a big bat at catcher. They just need someone to play defense.
Koz, I wholeheartedly agree. Assuming the yanks see the necessity of resigning LeMahieu, considering the financial state of the game right now, I don’t see how ownership will justify shelling out 100+ million on Realmuto or any other big name free agent. I would imagine a LeMahieu contract would be the only large money handed out this offseason, followed by a flurry of trades and low-key pickups to fill holes. My gut tells me cashman and co won’t be able to justify selling so low on Gary, but their unconditional dedication to him is likely sapped at this point. After all, what’s the point of a bat-first catcher with no bat?
No one will want Sanchez as their primary DH either. He just doesn’t get on base enough. He’s a solid bench / PH bat at best, with above average power. No team can afford to have a DH bat .150 – .180 for a full season, even if he hits 25+ HRs
For lack of a better word, Sanchez always seems unmotivated. It’s like he’s always unhappy out there. I think that’s why so many question his work ethic.
My guess is that the Yankees shop him this winter, but only trade him if it’s the right deal. They won’t just give him away. But if he stays I think Higgy gets the first crack at the starting job. During the playoffs, all of the announcers and reporters commented on how the pitching staff said they were comfortable with Higgy behind the plate. It’s a big deal if they don’t trust Sanchez catching them because it impacts their pitches and locations.
Trading Sanchez frees up money they can use on bullpen help. Their lineup is loaded, so they don’t need a superstar catcher. But they do need a catcher that can actually catch and play defense.
I just can’t see them paying him starting catcher money to be the backup. I seriously think they might just cut him if they can’t trade him.
When Sanchez was coming up through the minors, all the way through, scouts said he could not play catcher. The Yankees decided to leave him there, I think for value reasons. Which is why they should have traded him already to be honest. Now he is a DH & a mediocre BU catcher.
When a pitcher needs to bounce one in the dirt, and Gary is behind the plate, they probably have no idea if it’s goin to get blocked or not. I don’t doubt they were more comfortable with a better catcher, and given the offense the Yankees have, they don’t need another big hitter. They need a good catcher.
The arrogance of Yankees fans has always amused me. They think that since their catcher sucks, that the rest of baseball is more than willing to trade their good catchers to the Yankees, or that a catcher that’s hitting below the Mathis-line would have value as a 1B/DH. Would you listen to yourselves? It’s ridiculous.
At the end of the day, unless the Yankees spend on Realmuto, they’re destined to find a defensive-first catcher to pair with Sanchez and just pray that Gary has one of his good years at the plate.
It’s the Yankee-way. Spend your way to victory or pray for a miracle.
Throw in Andujar and Frazier and they can probably get Bellinger and Buehler
Why in the hell would the Dodgers trade Bellinger & or Buehler? If fans ran the Dodgers they would finish last next year. Bellinger is better than Frazier, Bueller is better than Andujar so how would this deal work again.
The joke.
*a marathon’s worth of miles”
Your head.
I don’t see anyone stating the Yankees would get a big haul for Sanchez. But it’s not like he’s untradeable. He still has 28-35HR power and there’s probably an AL team or two that could use a DH with power next year. It doesn’t hurt that he can also play catcher if needed as well.
At the very least I’m sure the Yankees could get a decent bullpen arm and a flyer prospect for Sanchez.
I don’t see anyone stating the Yankees would get a big haul for Sanchez.
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FWIW, I have the same conversations with RS fans. It feels like either a guy is a star, or the guy is a bum.
I am by no means a Sanchez fans, but his BABIP was off his career mark by almost 100 points. With virtually no changes at all, he could be back to an .800 OPS. If I were the Phillies, for example, I’d be more than happy let the NYY sign Realmuto and then to trade back for Sanchez.
BABIP is a flawed statement for judging hitters.
What Yankee fan said that they are going to trade Sanchez for a good catcher??? What one?
A few commenters have suggested that the Yankees should or could trade Sanchez. These are not all Yankee commenters. That’s all.
What’s ridiculous is your unsupportable assertion. It’s absurd and a flat-out lie.
Pirates have enjoyed success with last couple of Yankees catchers and can afford to take that contract be willing to move Adam Frazier
The Yankees always come out on the losing end of trades with Pittsburgh.
Exactly. We need a win here because we’re not gonna win anything for the next few seasons.
McCutchen filled in nicely for us.
Didn’t the Yanks get Cutch from the Giants?
An inevitable development when Cole was no longer willing/interested to throw to Sanchez. This guy makes Jarrod Saltalamacchia look like Yadi.
I think if they give Sanchez the biggest contract for a catcher in MLB history it will motivate him to become the best and will pay off big for NYY.
Trade Gary Sanchez to Philly since they will not be able to resign Realmuto. The problem is the Phils do not have anything the Yankees could use. A 3rd team would be needed.
This is a scalding hot take.
He’s the guy who squats behind home plate in front of the umpire. There, evaluated.
More accurately, he’s the guy who runs to the backstop to pick up the ball after it’s been pitched.
It’s funny because the Mets have more money than the Yankees now lol. So they would would probably outbid them for realmuto
Higi is a very good catcher. He would probably hit .235-.255 but so what. He will probably save more runs than Sanchez would drive in. No way I spend tens of millions on a 30 yr old Realmutto who is not even that big a power threat. The Yankees have enough guys that can hit the long ball. Higi was getting on base in the playoffs and scored some runs. He also was a blocking machine.
I’m not saying yanks have a bad team or catcher. I’m just saying from now on Mets have just as much money than yanks. It’s going to be a good competition in NY now
What exactly made this Cashman’s fault exactly? The pitching came up big against the Rays. Their hitting pounded the good pitchers of the Indians. How about we talk about how the team is managed on the field? When you play a game that 1 or 2 runs is like 5 & hard to come by why in the hell would they never bunt, hit & run, make ground ball contact away from the shifts. The way baseball is played to today is an embarrassment to the game. The game is controlled by basement dwelling geeks with there sabermetric garbage. Sabermetrics does not comprehend a productive out. I used to see a walk, a stolen base, a ground ball out to 2nd, and a fly ball to right and a team score a run without even a hit & it wasn’t even hard to do.
I used to see a walk, a stolen base, a ground ball out to 2nd, and a fly ball to right and a team score a run without even a hit & it wasn’t even hard to do.
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You make a couple of fundamental errors here.
The first is that you think walks are a thing of the past. They aren’t. I didn’t do any in-depth research, but I am guessing that the AL BBs in 2019 might be about the highest on record.
Your second error is to think that teams wouldn’t welcome a SB, or your assumption is that all one needs to do is to steal 2nd. If that was all there was to it, everyone would steal 2nd. The issue that you ignore is the stat called ‘caught stealing’. The issue is that, with a guy on 1st and no one out, a SB creates +.241 runs, But the caught stealing cost you .605 runs.
Just for fun, I compared 2019 against 2003 (the year before Tito outlawed the CS). The league’s SB ration theoretically created 13 altogether in 2019, and it cost the league 23 runs in 2003. So the league has created more runs by stealing less.
You third mistake is to assume that you are playing a one-run game, so a single run will win it for you. A SB and a sacrifice will yield more single runs. Swinging away will yield more total runs.
Great follow-up, basement nerd! What he misses is old school baseball. It probably also infuriates him when pull hitters don’t attempt to beat a defensive shift by trying to lay down a cheap single.
Gary Sanchez, LOL!
Seriously, the guy should stick to hitting and become a DH/1B. The Cubs made a similar decision with Schwarber and removed him from behind the plate (only to see him get hurt in the OF and post negative Defensive WAR since his injury). Sanchez could also benefit from a change of scenery as the Yankees have a plethora of right handed DH types with defensive issues.
I think the Yankees have always coveted Salvador Perez.
El Gary is on a hall of fame trajectory. He hit 20 homers in his rookie season. Unheard of for a rookie.
That means if they can’t sign Realmuto, they “completely believe in Sanchez”. Lol
They’ll trade for a player and not waste money on realmuto
Its easy when you have unlimited resources, not so much for k.c. pitts and every little town team
While some teams certainly have more money than others, the fact is that most teams still have plenty of resources. The differentiator is most other teams aren’t willing to spend the money. All these fans that whine about how much the Yankees spend would keep quiet if their team’s owner was willing to do the same. Funny how that works.
Trade him to the Cardinals for Knitzer, Carpenter and Bader/O’Neal
Ok Cashman, YOU HAVE NO PITCHING!!!
You don’t have a catcher and you don’t have a true shortstop. What you have is either 2 third basemen or 2 second basemen. You need a true to life shortstop as well. You center fielder isn’t exactly scaring pitchers to death.
You may make the playoffs but you are too weak in the middle of the diamond to bring home that covered championship.
Who wants a championship that is covered? I prefer to see the trophies :oP
Sanchez’s bat even (if it were to bounce back) would never offset his awful defense. The Yankees shouldn’t expect to get much back in a trade for him given how awful he’s been on both sides these past 2 years. However, I do think they would be able to get something for him from a team looking for a DH or a pinch hitter with a little extra pop. The thing about Sanchez is I feel like a large part of his problem is pitch selection. He takes so many strikes down the middle of the plate (especially on the first pitch) and then can’t lay off the slider in the dirt 6 inches outside. He starts every AB behind in the count 0-2 and inevitably strikes out unless the pitcher makes a mistake. His other issue is he dramatically overswings on every single pitch which causes him to pop up or miss altogether, again unless the pitcher makes a mistake. I think teams might look at this and think he could be coachable. Teach him some pitch selection and when to swing for the fences vs when to reign it in and take the single. Obviously there would be some reservations since if it were that easy presumably the Yankees would have fixed him but I can also see teams willing to take a chance, particularly if they already have a defense first catcher or an opening at DH.
Indians fan here, please don’t hold it against me. There’s the obvious talks about Lindor possibly going to the Yankees. What if one of Perez/Hedges were also in the deal? I don’t believe the Indians will pay 2 defensive stalwarts that are less than desirable offensively $9M. I think a return of Frazier and Andujar for Lindor is reasonably fair mostly due to their defensive woes and injuries. So what could be added if Perez/Hedges is also sent to you? Yajure too much to ask?
I don’t see the Indians trading Roberto Perez. He has been such an important part of the successes of Cleveland’s pitching. Cdav45, where would you play Andujar? He is horrible defensively and should only be a DH. Are you putting Reyes in the outfield? Frazier and Reyes both in the outfield would be a real step down defensively. I don’t see that happening.
Frazier in RF, Reyes and Andujar can share the DH/LF duties. Mercado in CF with Johnson as the 4th OF or vice versa. Frazier’s defense is back to what it was prior to the concussion. Yes, that means that all of DeShields, Naquin, Luplow, and Zimmer are elsewhere. The only one of that group that gives me pause is Luplow because he mashes LHP and plays pretty good defense. I’m sick and tired of the lack of OF production on this team.
I can absolutely see the Indians trading Perez. Not only because of his salary, but he will be 32 in December. Hedges is not a bad replacement for Perez as both are very similar.
Frazier and Andujar? I don’t get the appeal of two players whose offensive profiles aren’t yet completely and solidly extraordinary (particularly Frazier), neither of whom belong in the field at all, for even one year of Lindor. How do two DHs help Cleveland win?
There is no argument against Frazier or Andujar’s offensive upsides. The case just isn’t there even if they are small sample sizes. Frazier’s defensive woes came after his concussion and is reportedly back to normal. Remember he was initially a CFer and has a strong arm. Andujar has been working on his OF skills and is reportedly serviceable out there right now. Stating that neither belong in the field at all is just not true. What doesn’t belong in Cleveland’s OF is players that bring very little to the plate. I admit that making such a trade possibly creates another set of issues, but I’ve grown weary of the weak line up. The pitching is there. What this team needs for a change is a potent line up.
I love Frazier. And he is better than last year, but I still hold my breath when it’s hit to him. He’s routes to the ball are atrocious. Of course if you believe he could be a .900 plus OPS guy then I guess you can live with it.
You’re living in the past.
Clint Frazier was credited by MLB’s Baseball Savant with 1 Out Above Average in the outfield with a 92% success rate and 2% Success Rate Added. The Fielding Bible credited him with 2 Defensive Runs Saved, which put him above Alex Gordon and Jason Heyward.
Clint was a plus defender this year.
As a die hard Yankees fan, I understand I’ll always have a little bias with my sentiments and probably overvalue player or hope for the best more often than not. That being said, Gary Sanchez is coming up to the end of his rope with the team. I’d say he’s reached it already if it weren’t for the weird and unusual circumstances with 2020. No real spring training and a shortened season aren’t really the most transparent settings in which to judge the stature of a player, but I’m also not saying that’s any excuse for Sanchez. His defense has always been subpar, but it’s seemingly only gotten worse. Idk why he started using that ridiculous one knee bent and the other legs stretched out wide stance, but it’s had no benefits to his catching and needs to be adjusted. He may never be a decent defensive catcher, but he hasn’t improve. I think it was 2017 where he started off the season horrifically with his passed balls and catching game, but then I believe he started working with someone new (maybe Perez the teams old bench coach??) and significantly improved in the second half of the season. His offense used to be able to make up for his lack of defense, but that’s just not the case anymore. Not only had his defense deteriorated, but his bat has gone frighteningly cold too. His at bats are more often than not cringeworthy and we all know what’s going to happen before the pitch is ever thrown. Strike three flailing at a ball in the left handed batter box dirt. But this is all the crap we already know…what do we do with him now and where does the team go moving forward??
As much as I’d love to see JT Realmuto in pinstripes, I highly doubt it’s going to happen. The teams not going to spend $100M on a catcher when it’s clear that money is better served going into the rotation. I also doubt the Yankees will trade Sanchez this offseason when his value his at an all time low. Higashioka was a pleasant surprise at times, and played well in the postseason. Although I believe the team will look forward a veteran backstop with an above average glove to compete while giving Sanchez one more year to straighten his game out. He has the potential to dominate offensively as we’ve all seen it before. He also has the potential to possibly never put it all together as we’re seeing that now. If he continues to slash .150 to .200/sub-.300/sub-.400 with no defensive improvement, he will be gone by the trade deadline. However, if he can get back to being a .250/.350/.500 bat at least, and be an average defensive catcher, I think the Yankees will keep him at least until the two(?) young good looking prospects they have are ready to come up.
I don’t think the Yankees are going to be adding payroll this offseason. I think they’ll be tightening their belts. Part of that will be accomplished by letting players walk in their free agency year. But I also think they’re not going to add another big star unless it’s somebody like Bauer if he still wants to pitch on a one-year contract the way he has been.
What I don’t think they need is to add a slugging catcher like Realmuto.
Sanchez contributed nothing much offensively in 2020 and the Yankees still scored the most runs and had the highest OPS in the AL.
They need pitching above all, and what’s most important in a backstop is his performance behind the dish. Higashioka put on a blocking clinic during the playoffs, and that kind of ability has got to give confidence to a pitching staff.
Realmuto ranked fourth in Strike Rate (51.9%) in StatCast’s Catcher Framing Leaderboard, but Kyle’s 50.9% Strike Rate put him in the 11th tier with Christian Vazquez, which is really good.
Realmuto had the best Pop Time; but, again, Higgy was really good with a Pop Time of 1.95 seconds, which ranked 9th.
What’s more, basing an appraisal of Higgy’s offense on the mere 204 plate appearances he’s had in the majors is silly. What that did show was an improvement in each year.
And now, allow me to blow your mind.
Of all players with at least 25 Batted Ball Events in 2020, Kyle Higashioka ranked 12th in Barrels Per Plate Appearance, and his AVG Exit Velocity of 89.7 MPH was better than a lot of sluggers, including Frazier and Voit.
The Yankees have a fine starting catcher already. Back him up with Deivi’s “dad,” the awesome Erik Kratz, and put the money where it’s needed — in the pitching staff.