The Twins and catcher Gary Sánchez have avoided arbitration by agreeing to terms on a $9MM salary, the Associated Press reports. That’s the midpoint between the parties’ respective $9.5MM and $8.5MM filing figures, negating the need for a hearing that had been set to take place next week.
Minnesota acquired Sánchez from the Yankees as part of the Spring Training blockbuster that sent Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa to New York. He’s appeared in 44 games with his new club, hitting .224/.282/.435 in 177 trips to the plate. Sánchez has struggled to reach base, largely due to a personal-low 5.6% walk rate, but he’s popped seven home runs and 13 doubles to make a strong impact from a power perspective. The 29-year-old has started 24 games behind the plate and collected 18 appearances as the team’s designated hitter.
This was Sánchez’s final trip through the arbitration process. He’ll hit free agency for the first time in his career next offseason, part of a fairly deep catching class. Willson Contreras is the clear headliner of the group, with Sánchez joining such players as Omar Narváez, Mike Zunino, Christian Vázquez and Tucker Barnhart among the other potential regulars. Sánchez has as much offensive upside as anyone aside from Contreras, but he’d come under fire for his defense in the Bronx and has ceded the majority of starts behind the plate to Ryan Jeffers in Minneapolis.
Minnesota has now wrapped up its arbitration class without the need for any hearings. The Twins agreed to terms with Tyler Duffey, Gio Urshela, Caleb Thielbar and Danny Coulombe before the start of the season, while they settled with Luis Arraez last month. Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagán, the team’s other two arbitration-eligible players, had agreed to terms with the Padres before being traded to Minnesota on Opening Day.
Gotta love the Sanchise, baby!!!
Gotta love Contreras making only $600K more than Sanchez.
But what about next year? System is still broken if you get paid $9m today but next year you’ll likely have to settle for much less. System needs to allow for lesser salaries to inconsistent arb eligible players. Such would allow for better pay for those unable to go through arb but are key contributors.
Agree, I like to see some stats on how much these lower tier players make once they are a free agent.. I would guess many get a sizable pay cut which would tell me that the arbitrator is too generous.
The system is fine with me until the next CBA us up for discussion.
Apparently lawyers don’t like defense
If the Twins really want to motivate him they should have their first base coach hold up a bag of Cheetos every time Gary hits a ground ball so he hustles to 1st.
Fat jokes, hilarious.
Happy Pride month to you as well.
You will grow up one day.
Brutalized
Lol dt jb you got owned just accept it and don’t be so sensitive to an internet comment thread
That’s what getting owned looks like? You got some low standards.
How this scrub is still in the Majors is beyond my comprehension. Should’ve been non-tendered by the Yankees 3 years prior to the Minnesota trade
He’s actually been swinging a solid bat and improving of late. Also now in the 61st percentile for pitch framing. Was 20th or something with the Yankees.
Coaching help and not getting booed by fans and media seems to have made a difference.
Sanchez is batting .224 with an OBP of .282. That is mediocre. A change of scenery perhaps would have helped but it’s clear it hasn’t done anything
He has a 105 wRC+.
Lol pitch framing
Pitch framing? I’m confused by “61st percentile”… how am I supposed to have any perspective on that number?
I think splitting time between DH and catcher has helped him too. Catching full time is a bit overwhelming for him. Some bad AB’s he would take to the field and vice versa some bad plays he would take to the plate. It’s almost like he fell into quicksand and couldn’t get himself out at times and kept sinking deeper and deeper.
It’s pretty rotten what the Yankees did to him. It was clear he wasn’t a full time catcher and probably should’ve been at 1b/DH a long time ago but they kept insisting they were right about him and he was a catcher. His bat was special and they turned him into a head case by forcing him to fail at something he wasn’t capable of night after night. That kinda abuse takes it toll, and even worse so in NY. Rooting for him in Minny I think it’s a good match.
They minimized the option of more DH ABs when they acquired Stanton.
According to your suggestion, you dislike the Yankees just as much as I do. Except for 2020 (-0.1 fWAR), Sanchez produced more WAR than an average catcher. Of course the Yankees tendered him new contracts.
Gruß,
BSHH
I always laugh at people who sign their name on every post they make
Yes, it is beyond your comprehension. You got that much right.
$9M for Sanchez is a bloody joke. Just awful.
Yanks2,if he’d been non-tendered three years prior to the Minnesota trade, the Yankees would’ve missed out on the most home runs, the third-most RBI, and the fifth-most runs by a catcher from 2019-2021.
Nice! Just don’t spend it all in one place.
KFC?
Doesn’t really matter to me as a Yankee fan what Gary Sanchez does as a Minnesota Twin, he was never going to do that in NY. New York brings out the best in some athletes, but many players just can’t make it there. Sanchez is the most recent.
Sanchez and his career ups and downs have NOTHING to do with geography. NY is not that special. Talent doesn’t change according to location but Yankee fans will forever believe in this myth built on nothing more than anecdotes and local arrogance.
“E-e-e-e-e-easy, big fella!”
Joey Gallo would like a word. Ahahahaha!