The Yankees have agreed to minor league contracts with catcher Ali Sánchez and infielder Zack Short, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Both former big leaguers will presumably be in major league camp next spring.
Sanchez is a right-handed-hitting catcher with experience in parts of four major league seasons. He’ll turn 29 in a month. He split the 2025 campaign between the Mets, Blue Jays and Red Sox organizations, logging some major league time with the latter two. Sanchez has only 133 big league plate appearances under his belt and is a .183/.220/.233 in that time. He’s a solid defender who has played in parts of five Triple-A seasons, including a 2025 campaign in which he slashed .274/.336/.411 (102 wRC+) in 57 games between the top affiliates for the Mets and Jays.
Short, 30, is another glove-first player who’s seen limited action in the majors. The former 17th-round pick has suited up for the Astros, Tigers, Mets, Red Sox and Braves in the majors, hitting a combined .172/.271/.296 with 15 home runs and 10 steals in 594 turns at the plate. He strikes out too often but also draws plenty of walks.
Short, fittingly, has spent the bulk of his time in the majors playing shortstop, but he’s also spent significant time at third base and second base (in addition to one-off cameos in center field and right field). He’s drawn better marks for his defense at second base than the other spots but still gives the Yankees some versatility to stash in Triple-A, where he’s a .216/.353/.380 hitter in parts of six seasons.
New York currently has Austin Wells and J.C. Escarra ticketed for big league catching work. Sanchez will provide some depth beyond that duo. Short is behind each of Anthony Volpe, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Ryan McMahon, Oswaldo Cabrera and Amed Rosario on the infield depth chart. Out-of-options infielders Jorbit Vivas and Braden Shewmake are both on the 40-man roster as well.
Zack Short Braves legend.
Enough. Any other news other than a Bellinger or Imai signing is unacceptable to me right now. Yanks will come up Short.
I think Imai is going to the Yankees. @99 wait a few days I think.
@Astros71- hope so. Thinking Cubs, Mets or Phillies. We’ll see. You want to keep Framber? If so what is he looking for? Lmk
Zach is a podcast host legend long before a Braves career
Cashman at the controls
The yankees looking cheap discount deals again. Never a dull moment for my cheap team.
@ mlbnyyfan
I hate it when my $296 million team doesn’t spend…
i hate when my $296 million team spends the $296 million so poorly that they have massive holes in the roster they cant/wont address
@Canuck It’s the relative spending to revenue aspect and the well above average cost of a family of four to enjoy a home game.
They ask us to spend, so why shouldn’t we ask them to spend in turn?
@Beg
Massive holes like the one left in LF by the guy that just entered FA, whom they’ve been reported to submit an offer to and is represented by Boras an agent notorious agent known to allow play negotiations? Who also have 3 OF in camp right now? And the bell of the ball in Tucker who’s not rising things either and I’m sure the Yanks have engaged in too? Or is is SS emerge we have a guy who despite struggling last year, was a 3.5 WAR player in 202 but is currently banned up by a guy named Caballero who seems like a capable replacement until he’s back? Or 3B where, despite his k rate, we have a 20 hr guy with a good caliber glove at currently? Or are you talking about a pen that has two guys that have 30 save seasons on their resume? You don’t think we have find one or two power and to pitch the 5th and 6th innings before ST? IM mean SP is the one plane I have the most concern but I don’t think Dylan Cease WS the answer and King MIGHT have had health issues that alarmed teams including the Yanks. To suggest the Yanks can’t get better would be absurd. To suggest the cupboards are bare and that Cashman didn’t bring in contentgencies in Bednar, Doval, Caballero and have in-house options like Rice and Dominguez it’s ridiculous. I would even suggest that Freid, Gil, Warren, Schlittler and????? should be enough to hold over until Rondon is back and later Cole. This is still a 90+ win team if healthy. They’re still like 12 of the top 20 guys on the board and a couple of high end options at LF and 3B. And trades are always options too.
Every team needs guys to stash at AAA for depth. Sanchez is a decent depth fit as a righty hitting C that they lack at the top of their system, and their AAA roster is short on position players right now with 2 IFs on the 40 man out of options as stated.
Fans have the right to complain but this has little to nothing to do with roster filling and n the majors. Maybe pick your spots?
Every year we go through the same thing here. This is part of building club depth.
Cashman making the rest of the league look like fools. Best GM ever.
Mets sign ex-Yankees (Holmes, Soto, Williams, Weaver) and Yankees sign ex-Mets ( Rosario, Short, Sanchez).
It’s getting incestuous.
Haha imissjoebuzas!
Also we can add Paul Blackburn to your list since he signed yesterday.
I still can’t believe Austin Wells forgot how many outs there were in a game last season while on base lol
I still can’t believe how the Yankees can’t sign or trade for anything significant right now.
@99
I still can’t believe how after numerous winters ppl can he understand that ot takes two to tangle and most teams have likely engaged with agents, submitted offers and age either negotiating or waiting for an answer. Tucker is the prize of the winter. Why would he be quick to decide? Beli is represented by Boras. You really think he’s going to sign this quickly? If he did then it would be because Beli insisted on going to that team and wanted it out the way of some team have them an offer they couldn’t refuse that was so high no one else would touch it.
@KnicksFanCavsFan- I’m really not asking for too much. Probably won’t be a 2027 season.(lockout) Re-Sign Belli, sign Imai and Fairbanks and then sit out free agency next year. This is based on Yankee needs, not wants. Getting to another World Series and actually winning one. Definitely is not too much to ask for, and is needed. Is it not?
I’m disappointed in my fellow Yankees fans right now. Didn’t you guys hear Hal? The Yankees aren’t profitable. He simply can’t afford to do what these other big market teams are doing. He has to pay taxes and stuff!
Happy to see Zack Short get a contract. 🙂
He hit a walk off in the 11th against the Texas Rangers.
Busy offseason for the Yankees minor league depth. Going to be a lot of competition. Yankees minors might win the championship this year.
Two more former ex-Mets. Cashman obsessed.
At this stage of the game,there are now more ex-Mets in the Yankees system than the reverse
You beat me to the snark!
The Amtrak between Boston and New York must give discounted tickets to ballplayers.
Can’t wait for them to sign some OFs for AAA depth and then hear the barking here.
They only have 1 OF on their AAA roster, little beyond 4th OFs to promote from AA (maybe Brendan jones comes up to fill a spot), and 40 man Spencer Jones will likely be there to further work on plate discipline and K / contact rate.
I’m convinced that after these signings the Yankees will win their division.
Both ex Mets!
Yankees just scarfing up everyone available….something must be done to stop them.
Yankees ruining baseball.
Ali(l) Short was what I was expecting for Monday morning from the Yankees.
Ex-Mets too!
The. Company line at the end of spring training. We like the way the team looks. And we can always trade at the deadline. A work in progress
I keep telling myself to be patient because there’s a long way to go in the offseason. But when you see their rivals signing good players and making good trades it gets that much harder to have patience. Come on Hal open up your wallet and Cashman get to work!
You’re right the Yankees spend but always on the wrong players. For example a few years ago Rizzo instead of Freeman. How about Stanton instead of Harper. Not signing Seager. The list is endless
The Yankees haven’t missed anything they couldn’t do without yet, so I’ll reserve judgement. That said, there’s quite a bit of heavy lifting yet to do, and this front office doesn’t fill me with a lot of hope that they’ll do it.
This team needs to spend a healthy sum just to run back the same team as last year, nevermind close the gap with the Jays and Dodgers. IMO they need Bellinger plus a credible above average shortstop plus a starter plus a reliever or two – at very least. I just don’t see it happening.
The goat is to beat the champion Japan Dodgers