Feb. 14: Milwaukee has officially announced the Sánchez deal. The Brewers had room on the 40-man roster, so no corresponding move was needed.
Feb. 11: The Brewers have agreed to terms on a deal with veteran catcher Gary Sánchez, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The MDR Sports client will be guaranteed $1.75MM on the deal.
Sánchez, 33, spent the 2025 season with the Orioles organization but was limited to just 30 games and 101 plate appearances due to wrist inflammation and, more seriously, a sprain of the posterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. He was reasonably productive when healthy, popping five homers and turning in a .231/.297/.418 batting line (100 wRC+).
This will be Sánchez’s second stint with the Brewers in the past three seasons. He spent the 2024 campaign in Milwaukee as well, hitting .220/.307/.392 with 11 homers in 280 plate appearances. He served as a backup to William Contreras and a part-time (40 games) designated hitter that season and figures to reprise that role in 2026.
A former top prospect and an All-Star earlier with the Yankees early in his career, Sánchez has settled into a backup/part-time role in recent seasons. He appeared in 128 games and totaled 471 plate appearances with the Twins in 2022 after being traded from the Bronx to Minnesota, but he’s taken only 648 plate appearances combined in the three subsequent seasons (albeit, in part due to last year’s injuries).
Sánchez developed a reputation as a defensive liability earlier in his career but progressed to the point that he turned in solid defensive marks behind the dish in both 2022 and 2023. He was closer to average in ’24 and slipped back below average in 2025, per both Defensive Runs Saved and Statcast, though that was obviously a small sample (175 innings). He’ll return to a Milwaukee club where he’s familiar with some members of the staff (e.g. Brandon Woodruff, Abner Uribe, Trevor Megill, Aaron Ashby, Jared Koenig), but the Brewers’ staff has turned over a fair bit even in the roughly 18 months since Sánchez’s initial departure.
The Brewers recently signed veteran catcher Reese McGuire to a minor league deal and invited him to spring training. He’d been in line to serve as the backup to Contreras but now seems likely to be ticketed for Triple-A Nashville — if he doesn’t have an out clause in his contract that allows him to explore other opportunities late in camp.
The addition of those two veterans gives the Brewers the ability to be more patient with top prospect Jeferson Quero, who is widely regarded as the heir to Contreras behind the plate but still has just 59 games and 251 plate appearances of Triple-A ball under his belt. He could push his way into the mix with a big enough season in Nashville, and it’s feasible that he’ll be ready for a full-time look in 2027, when Contreras will be entering his final season of club control (and likely be an offseason trade candidate, as is often the case with top Brewers players who are a year from reaching free agency).
Gary Sanchez! I remember him.
The slim catcher is BACK!
Gary is in the process of mapping out all the all you can eat buffets in a 25 mile radius…as we speak. 🤣
How bout the Sanchise gettin’ another job every year! Good 4 him!
LoL. Good luck Kraken. Less than 2M. Desperate times for you old friend. I guess it’s better than LI Ducks. If this doesn’t work out Greg Bird told me Home Depot is always hiring
stop being a hater. yes, he had great expections, but hes hung around over 10 years in mlb and has almost 200 homers, but bad, especially for a catcher.
Lmao always funny when dudes cast judgment on million dollar salaries from their Mama’s basement.
Especially Milwaukee fans.. they cry about the Brewers while their Mama heating up their hot pockets. You betcha dontcha know. No crying in baseball.. unless you live in Wisconsin
Glad I didn’t comment cause that reply hurt. Ouch.
cn1
“from their Mama’s basement.”
I don’t know about that, but Sanchez is almost certainly one of the best 1000 baseball players in the world. And mlbnyyf is almost certainly NOT one of the best 1000 janitors, or whatever, in the world.
his custodial skills are comfortably in the top quartile, though…
@Phunkzilla
The Brewers are on a mission and will create a small-market dynasty never before seen in the modern-day history of this game. This will be done on a bottom third payroll. No crying from real Brewers fans — we know what’s cooking. We don’t care or want FA talent that play more baseball on the downside of their careers than when they were in their prime. We develop or trade for young, controllable talent, that play their baseball thru their prime-performance years.
We have systems and processes unique to baseball, developed by the best FO in the game. This has lead to a mostly 4-6+ years controlled, prime-aged roster coming off a 97 win season, with 9 starting pitchers with BL experience, all controlled for 4-6+ years. Then on top of that, we have the best & deepest farm system in the game, with impact talent on both sides of the ball.
It’s taken the FO nearly a decade to complete their infrastructure rebuild — but they now have as good of infrastructure departments as there is in this game, including possibly the best overall prospect-procurement system in the game continually feeding the farm.
This team right now has as much or more young organizational talent as any team in the game sans the LAD, and it’s going to continue to get added to until they overtake even that team.
10+ years of winning ahead never seen by a SM team before.
JuanUribeJazzHands
And mlbnyyf is almost certainly NOT one of the best 1000 janitors
==================
By making a comparison to janitors, you are casting aspersions at janitors. Kids today can do a whole lot worse than being a janitor in the NYC public schools.
JB
“By making a comparison to janitors, you are casting aspersions at janitors”
How so?
I picked a job. No aspersion was intended.
The MLBTR moniker tells me all I need to know. More propaganda and another fish that swallowed the bait is pushing it.
Top 10-15 annually in MLB home attendance and also the average cost for a fan to attend a game.
Yet, ONE WS appearance over 40 years ago and the only one in the 55 years of the franchise.
When is this franchise going to get rid of the ’82 era logo and stop living on the laurels of that team??!! Please?
Id take him back on the Yankees in a heartbeat.
But we already have him already, his name is Giancarlo Stanton. Lol.
His defense has improved and he’s obviously better offensively than Escarra, even Wells.
right handed bat, yup could platoon with Wells.
Solid 2023 for SD.
And theres the backup and stopgap for until Quero is ready later this season.
Prelude to a William Contreras trade
Stopgap until Quero is called up.
The Contreras trade will probably happen in December 2026.
Contreras isnt getting traded this year, and unless Quero proves they can count on him, I dont think hell be dealt next year either.
The Brewers deal pitchers with a year left, they have depth there, and injuries are much more likely to ruin that last year of control.
Im sure they’ll listen on him like they do everyone, but similar to Willy, I dont see anyone paying what it would cost to create that hole in the lineup
Queros injury torched the Catcher depth and succession plan they had in mind.
I have a feeling a trade involving Mitchell to Houston for Paredes is possible now, I could see them playing Yelich more in left with Chourio or Frelick going back to center with that trade opening up DH for Contreras and Gary to split time at DH and catcher, they can still have Perkins as 4th outfielder, and maybe run 3 catchers on the roster with McGwire
Glad you’re not the GM
1. Chourio CF
2. Turang 2B
3. Contreras C/DH
4. Yelich LF/DH
5. Paredes 3B
6. Frelick RF
7. Vaughn 1B
8. Sanchez DH/C
9. Hamilton/Ortiz SS
1B/LF Bauers
OF Perkins
C McGwire
That’s your 13 guys in that scenario, with Jett Williams coming up at short as well. I don’t love 3 catchers on the roster, but with a backup catcher taking up a DH spot, at least part of the time, it’s not a bad situation to have
Reese isnt making OD roster now unless one of 2 ahead of him go down to injury.
Another 97 win Brew Crew season
smh lmao
Paredes is not getting traded with the season underway.
I have a feeling youre wrong. Paredes has 2 years on his contract. Crew rid themselves of Durbin so they can call up one of the prospects upon when ready.
Yeli hasnt been able to hold up all year at DH, they arent going to put him back in LF
He played 150/162 last year. But I agree he’s not an outfielder anymore unless it’s absolutely necessary.
Yeah, he played, but check out his numbers in spetember and the playoffs, he clearly ran out of gas.
Ugh. I have no desire to see Sanchez back on the Brewers, but at least it’s not a huge overpay like last time.
Didn’t they end up getting him cheaper than they first agreed with him last time? Seem to recall an injury surfaced and the team agreed to take him but on a lot less pay. Something like that. But, yeah, he didn’t offer very much and I’m not thrilled to see him back.
Can he play third base?
He’s never played 3B, so my guess is no.
He should’ve been a full-time DH years ago to maximize his offense.
He doesn’t hit well enough to be a full-time DH. Most teams want a DH that can hit better than a career 107 OPS+. Sanchez is fortunate that he’s passable as a catcher.
107 OPS+ for his career but only 94 OPS+ since 2000. Not sure why teams continue to DH him. Maybe the threat of pop is more important than actual production?
Sanchez has value because his .700-.710 OPS is roughly league average but for the position with that OPS being driven by a high SLG% that’s not high from triples or a bunch of doubles, it’s HRs, so there’s actually a good chance the Crew see some real value for that 1.75m$ guarantee, gotta be seen as a decent signing, God Bless
He is a good under appreciated player and proof that WAR is flawed
Dude was supposed to be a superstar now he’s just a back up to the back up.
A lot of last-minute moves being made across the league.
Ain’t it great?
Below average defensive metrics in 2025 is kind. It was an adventure with him back there. He DH’d a lot when healthy leaving the catching duties to guys like Maverick Handley (there was a parade of no names back there when both he and Rutschman were out).
Another stellar move by mega-genius Mike Elias, who giggled at the 2024 winter meetings about moving the LF wall in for O’Neill and Sanchez while rival executives behind him were getting good pitchers.
Plus he went for 8.5M in 2025. Money that could have gone toward good pitching.
Rooting for a sanchez revival
Sanchez is a perfect example why the Yankees fired the International scouting guy. Sanchez, Dominez, Arias, all have been a bust. They recently lost out of other top International prospects one to the Mets and I think one to Seattle.
Idk if i would call Sanchez a bust, his career didn’t quite progress the way we all wanted, but his offensive production as a catcher is impressive. Career war of 14+ (comparatively to a sandy alomar jr and todd hundley), ops of 800 as a yankee. His blocking skills behind the plate are bad but his throwing arm is impressive. I’m not going to strongly defend him but if you consider the position he plays he’s had a good career, albeit disappointing for us yankee fans.
I agree, but also agree the Int’l scouting guy should have been let go. I don’t think Oppenheimer is much good either, but he seems like another lifetime hire
Yea I have no issues with a change in direction for intl scouting. With out being involved it’s hard to tell if it’s the scouting or the development that is the issue, id lean development but who knows
Lol saw him play in Durham for the Orioles minor league. He hit a bomb and sucked behind the plate as usuL
Yankees could have used a right-handed catcher and for that money, Cashman should have at least kicked the tires on him.
Cash doesn’t know how to construct a roster where all the pieces fit, you should know that by now, bro
They have Carlos Narváez…oh wait a min….
“CaShGoD”
Now that the Red Sox have Caleb Durbin, it’s an extra dose of gloating by the Red Sox now lol
I get to be reminded of Cashman’s failure of a trade for Devin Williams (that essentially cost the Yankees the AL East title) every time I see Caleb up to bat during games against Boston.
Waooo, a lot of haters. Sanchez still a very serviceable catcher….
in the words of Obi-Wan Kenobi “now that’s a name I have not heard in a long time….”
Poor Reece McGuire has to beat it down to Nashville. He will be whacking that ball hard in AAA. That guy can really jerk that bat. He really strokes it.
Good for Gary. Been around the block.