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Gary Sanchez

Gary Sanchez To Undergo Shoulder Surgery

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Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez will undergo surgery on his left (non-throwing) shoulder this offseason, general manager Brian Cashman tells reporters at the GM Meetings in Carlsbad, Calif. (Twitter links via Lindsey Adler of The Athletic). The shoulder has bothered him since 2017 and been treated with cortisone shots in the past, but Sanchez aggravated it while working out in Tampa this past week.

The timeline for Sanchez’s recovery is about three months, and the current projection is that he’ll be ready for Opening Day. That timeline will push Sanchez’s recovery right up to the point at which pitchers and catchers are set to report to Spring Training. Any setbacks or delays, then, could call into question his availability for the beginning of the regular season. In the event that he’s not ready, however, Cashman indicated the team is comfortable with Austin Romine stepping up as the primary catcher early in the 2019 season (Twitter link via SNY’s Andy Martino).

Sanchez, who’ll turn 26 in December, endured multiple DL stints in 2018 for a different injury — a right groin strain that limited him to 89 games and 374 plate appearances in 2018. It seems safe to assume that the groin injury, paired with the now-known left shoulder troubles, played a significant role in the downturn in Sanchez’s prodigious offensive output. After hitting a combined .284/.354/.568 with 53 home runs and 32 doubles through 754 plate appearances between 2016-17, Sanchez slumped to a .186/.291/.406 slash line this past season.

AL Notes: G. Sanchez, Tribe, Chisenhall, Orioles

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Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez is coming off a disappointing season in which he endured plenty of criticism for both his underwhelming offensive performance and his subpar pitch blocking behind the plate. Nevertheless, New York will again rely on Sanchez as its starting backstop in 2019, general manager Brian Cashman recently told ESPN Radio’s Michael Kay (hat tip to Mike Axisa of River Ave Blues). “We know what he’s capable of doing,” Cashman said. “And I’m already getting phone calls to be honest from clubs trying to knock on our door to see if he’s available. And he’s not … He will be our catcher.” Sanchez was the game’s best hitting catcher from 2016-17, a 754-plate appearance span in which he batted .284/.354/.568 with 53 home runs, but dropped to .186/.291/.406 with 18 HRs in 374 PA in 2018. A .197 batting average of balls in play (down from .308 the previous two seasons) played a part in that, though, and Statcast suggests Sanchez deserved much better offensive numbers than his bottom-line results. Perhaps thanks in part to that data, not to mention his past production, it appears the Yankees are counting on a return to form in 2019 from the soon-to-be 26-year-old. Sanchez is slated to play his final pre-arb season next year, meaning he’ll earn a bargain salary. That only adds to Sanchez’s appeal for the Yankees and the teams that have inquired about him.

More from the American League…

  • There’s almost no chance the Indians will re-sign pending free-agent outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com writes. The 30-year-old’s coming off his second straight injury-plagued season (he played just 82 games in 2017 and only 29 in ’18), and the Indians seem to have a cheaper in-house replacement in Tyler Naquin, Bastian observes. Chisenhall, to his credit, was a strong offensive contributor during his limited playing time over the past couple years. He has also been a member of the Cleveland organization since it drafted him 29th overall in 2008, so a parting of ways would mean the end of a long union between the two sides.
  • The Orioles came in second in the race for Cuban pitching prospect Sandy Gaston, whom the Rays reeled in earlier this week, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Meanwhile, the Mesa brothers – two other Orioles targets who joined the Marlins last weekend – were essentially a package deal, despite earlier reports to the contrary, per Kubatko. Although Baltimore had the most international pool space available, it lost out on all three prospects, leading to questions as to what went wrong for the beleaguered franchise.

East Notes: Mets, Cespedes, Yanks, Sanchez, Braves

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With Yoenis Cespedes set to miss some portion of next season as he recovers from two heel surgeries, Mets COO Jeff Wilpon admitted on Sunday that the team will have to plan as if he won’t play in 2019 (via Tim Healey of Newsday). “You probably do have to plan that way, given the fact that it’s uncertain,” Wilpon said of Cespedes, who will enter the penultimate season of a four-year, $110MM contract in 2019. Fortunately for the Mets, it appears they have at least two starting-caliber corner outfielders on hand in 2018 breakout star Brandon Nimmo and Michael Conforto, and their presences should make Cespedes’ absence less noticeable for however much time he misses next year.

Here’s more from New York and one other East Coast city:

  • The re-signing of Cespedes in 2016 has been the Mets’ biggest free-agent splash in recent years, but Wilpon suggested that hasn’t been because of an unwillingness to spend on the team’s part; rather, it was outgoing general manager Sandy Alderson recommendation that the club avoid high-priced free agents, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports. Mets fans don’t seem to buy it, though, as the responses to Puma’s tweet indicate.
  • Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez has come under fire for his difficulty with blocking pitches – he was the majors’ third-worst catcher in that department during the regular season, according to Baseball Prospectus – but general manager Brian Cashman isn’t overly concerned about that aspect of his game. “Believe it or not, that falls down (the list) compared to the other things he brings to the table, including his bat,” Cashman told NJ.com’s Brendan Kuty, who goes into detail about Sanchez’s subpar regular season. After establishing himself as an elite offensive catcher from 2016-17, his first two seasons, Sanchez fell flat during an injury-shortened year with a .186/.291/.406 line in 374 plate appearances. The 25-year-old continued to provide considerable power, though, evidenced by his 18 home runs and .220 isolated slugging mark, and may have deserved better production in general. Not only did Sanchez post a .220 batting average on balls in play, down from .308 over the previous two years, but he logged a .357 expected weighted on-base average – up 53 points from his .304 wOBA (per Statcast). And for all the handwringing over his defense, Sanchez actually earned a positive overall mark from BP.
  • From a statistical standpoint, Braves utilityman Ryan Flaherty had a less-than-stellar 2018, though he told ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick over the weekend that he’s interested in continuing his playing career next season. The 32-year-old also added that he has already thought about his next chapter in baseball, which could include working as a coach, manager or in a front office role, Crasnick relays. Flaherty’s fluent in Spanish, which is an obvious plus, and his father, Ed, has been eminently successful as the manager at Division III Southern Maine. Of course, those factors alone don’t mean Ryan Flaherty’s qualified to coach, but Braves skipper Brian Snitker believes he’s cut out for such a role. “I think he’d be a great coach or manager,’’ Snitker told Crasnick. “He has a good feel for the game. He knows the game. He’s a baseball guy, and he loves everything about it. I think it would be awesome if he stayed in the game. The game needs people like that.”

AL East Notes: Kiermaier, Sanchez, Didi, Biagini

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Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier was hit on the foot by a pitch tonight and later diagnosed with a hairline fracture, per a team announcement. Kiermaier originally stayed in the game after being plunked, but with only a handful of games remaining, it seems likely that he’ll get an early start on his offseason. The 28-year-old already missed more than two months earlier this season with a torn ligament in his thumb and has averaged just 97 games per season across the past three years due to injury. His 2016 season was shortened by a pair of fractures in his hand sustained while diving for a ball in the outfield, while his 2017 season was truncated by a fractured hip incurred while sliding. Kiermaier is one of the game’s premier defenders and an outstanding baserunner, but tonight’s news won’t do anything to quell the “injury-prone” label that has been attached to him in recent years. He’s set to earn $8MM in 2019, $10MM in 2020, $11.5MM in 2021 and $12MM in 2022 as part of the six-year, $53.5MM extension he signed in 2017.

More from the division…

  • Yankees skipper Aaron Boone acknowledged tonight that Gary Sanchez’s ongoing troubles with passed balls are a “concern” but left no doubt that Sanchez is expected to be the starter for the team in the postseason (Twitter link via the YES Network’s Jack Curry). Sanchez, 25, has an MLB-worst 17 passed balls this season despite catching just 631 innings heading into tonight’s game. The issue is hardly unique to 2018, either, as he led the league with 16 passed balls last year (in 881 innings). He’s also taken a step back in nearly all facets with his bat in 2018, hitting .181/.281/.393 through 365 PAs. Sanchez is still among baseball’s most powerful catchers and, to his credit, has improved his walk rate to a robust 11.8 percent this season.
  • Sticking with the Yankees, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com writes that shortstop Didi Gregorius was cleared to resume baseball activities on Wednesday. Gregorius, who is dealing with a cartilage injury in his right wrist, is optimisitc about returning before the end of the regular season. Even if he doesn’t return before season’s end, Boone said that wouldn’t rule out a possible appearance in the AL Wild Card Game, though the manager generally spoke with caution rather than putting down a definitive timetable on Gregorius’ return.
  • Right-hander Joe Biagini has bounced between the bullpen and rotation since being selected in the Rule 5 Draft by the Blue Jays prior to the 2016 season, but he tells Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling that he’s now focused on a relief role moving forward. “I’m looking forward to having one role for the whole season to see if that helps,” said Biagini. The struggles to which Biagini alludes there have been pronounced; the righty pitched to a brilliant 3.06 ERA with strong peripherals as a rookie in 2016 while working exclusively as a reliever. He’s bounced between the ’pen and the rotation in the two seasons since, however, and been tattooed for a 5.51 ERA in 189 1/3 innings. As Zwelling notes, the Jays will be on the hunt for both rotation and relief help this offseason, so knowing where Biagini will fit into the equation should help when plotting their offseason trajectory.

East Notes: G. Sanchez, Red Sox, Marlins, Pirates, Phillies, O’s

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This season hasn’t gone according to plan for Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, leading Joel Sherman of the New York Post to wonder if the club could target Miami’s J.T. Realmuto or another starting-caliber backstop during the winter. It doesn’t seem that’s going to happen, though, as Yankees general manager Brian Cashman suggested to Sherman that he hasn’t lost any confidence in Sanchez. “If you are asking if [Sanchez] is a championship-caliber catcher moving forward, the answer is yes,” Cashman said. “Despite circumstances that have played out this year, we will stay with it and hopefully be rewarded for it.” After his bat helped propel him to elite catcher status from 2016-17, Sanchez has slashed an underwhelming .184/.280/.404 in 304 plate appearances this season. On the other side, the 25-year-old has drawn plenty of criticism for defensive miscues, including for his work in Oakland this past Wednesday. Still, it’s easy to see why Cashman remains bullish on Sanchez. With a .189 batting average on balls in play and a massive gap between his real wOBA (.298) and expected wOBA (.366), Sanchez has been one of the game’s unluckiest hitters in 2018, and he has still managed 15 home runs and a .221 ISO. Defensively, Sanchez’s issues may be a tad overblown, evidenced in part by the above-average marks he has earned from StatCorner.

More from the East Coast…

  • Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes is out indefinitely with left hip inflammation, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports. With Boston all but locked into the top seed in the American League, Barnes’ loss isn’t much of a blow now. But it could be if the injury continues to linger into the playoffs, as Barnes leads Red Sox relievers in holds (25) and strikeouts per nine (14.19). He has also thrown the second-most innings (58 1/3) of anyone in Boston’s bullpen and logged an impressive 3.39 ERA/2.71 FIP.
  • With righty Trevor Williams on a roll for the Pirates, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald revisits the 2015 trade in which the Marlins sent the hurler to Pittsburgh for fellow righty Richard Mitchell and the right to hire pitching guru Jim Benedict from the Bucs. Williams ranked among the Marlins’ top prospects at the time, making the deal look good for Pittsburgh. It looks even better now, given that the 26-year-old Williams has allowed a combined four earned runs over his past nine starts – a 54 2/3-inning span – to improve his ERA/FIP to 3.15/4.16 across 148 2/3 frames this season. Considering Williams’ current performance and his affordable team control through 2022, not to mention what the Marlins got in the trade, losing him looks rather regrettable for the Fish. Former Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria expected Benedict to fix the Marlins’ pitching staff, per Spencer. It didn’t happen, however, and Benedict’s now with the Cubs. Mitchell, meanwhile, was a non-prospect who never threw a pitch with the Miami organization and hasn’t played professionally since the end of his Pirates tenure.
  • Phillies outfielder Roman Quinn broke one of the toes on his right foot, but it’s an injury he can play through, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia was among those to report. Quinn suffered the injury on a hit by pitch on Wednesday and hasn’t played since, though manager Gabe Kapler said the Phillies “have every assurance that this injury is a tolerance issue and when he’s ready to play, he’s good to go.” Nevertheless, as Salisbury details, it adds to a laundry list of injuries for the 25-year-old Quinn – who has still recorded good numbers since debuting last season. Over 153 major league PAs, including 84 this year, Quinn has hit .307/.371/.455 (121 wRC+) with 12 stolen bases.
  • The Orioles plan to re-sign pending free-agent catcher Martin Cervenka, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Cervenka joined the Orioles via the Giants in the minor league phase of last year’s Rule 5 draft, and has since amassed “lots of supporters” within the O’s organization, Kubatko writes. The 26-year-old may even debut in the majors’ next season, as Kubatko adds that Cervenka could have a shot to emerge as the Orioles’ backup catcher in 2019. In doing so, he’d become the first native of the Czech Republic to ever play in the majors. The highest level Cervenka has reached to this point is Double-A, where he put up a .258/.317/.457 line with 15 home runs in 375 PAs this season.

Yankees Activate Gary Sanchez

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The Yankees have activated catcher Gary Sanchez from the disabled list. While it’s commonplace for clubs to activate players from the 10-day disabled list on September 1st even if they aren’t entirely ready (due to roster expansion), he’s also in today’s starting lineup against the Tigers.

Groin injuries have limited the young Sanchez to just 279 plate appearances on the year. The first occurrence of this injury came on June 25th, when the 25-year-old hit the disabled list with a grade one strain. Though he was activated on July 19th, he succumbed to the injury again just five days later after a game in which he seemed unable to hustle down the first base line much to the consternation of the Bombers’ fan base.

Even while on the field, Sanchez certainly hasn’t shown his best work so far this year. While his 14 homers have certainly been a positive, a .188 batting average and .283 on-base certainly aren’t what the Yankees had imagined seeing from him after a .278/.345/.531 sophomore season in 2017.

To be fair, though, a shockingly low .194 BABIP has suppressed his offensive performance considerably, and that seems unlikely to continue to such an extreme. Additionally, his .303 wOBA is a far cry from the .361 xwOBA accredited to him by Statcast for his contact quality and launch angle. The Yankees will surely be hoping his luck will turn around as they prepare for a postseason berth that seems likely to begin with a one-game Wild Card playoff.

AL East Notes: Orioles Prospects, Yankees, Estrada

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Outfielder Yusniel Diaz, the prospect who headlined last month’s Manny Machado trade, has struggled since being dealt to the Orioles but is beginning to show signs of life in Double-A, writes Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun. The Orioles have made some alterations to Diaz’s stance at the plate that they feel will be beneficial in the long run, even if the early returns have been lackluster. Manager Gary Kendall spoke to Meoli about Diaz’s impressive tools even as he fights through a slump (perhaps partially due to a paltry .234 BABIP, Meoli notes), and the column is filled with quotes from Kendall on his overall impressions of the 21-year-old Diaz. Meoli also checks in on the progress of all four other players involved in the Machado trade.

A few more notes from the division…

  • Didi Gregorius swung a bat Sunday for the first time since hitting the DL, writes George A. King III of the New York Post. The Yankees are optimistic about the outlook for both Gregorius and catcher Gary Sanchez, King writes, adding that Sanchez will head out on a Triple-A rehab assignment today. Sanchez will step right back into the lineup for regular work once healthy, manager Aaron Boone tells King. Boone wouldn’t commit to Gregorius being ready for activation when eligible but said he’s “optimistic.” Meanwhile, King notes that there’s still no meaningful update on Aaron Judge, who has yet to resume swinging as he waits for a chip fracture in his wrist to mend.
  • Trade candidate Marco Estrada didn’t do much to impress other clubs with a short start this weekend, writes Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet. After Estrada failed to complete three innings against the Phillies, the Blue Jays righty acknowledged to Nicholson-Smith and others that he’s been pitching through ongoing back discomfort over the past couple of weeks. That’s hardly a new issue for Estrada, who has struggled with a herniated disk in his back in the past and spent time on the DL due to back issues. He’s allowed at least three runs in five of his past six starts, including four starts with either four or five runs allowed in that time.

East Notes: G. Sanchez, Pedroia, Mets, Alonso, Braves

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Catcher Gary Sanchez may be in line to rejoin the Yankees on Sept. 3, when they start what could be a crucial series in Oakland, per George A. King III of the New York Post. Sanchez, out since July 24 with a groin injury, began a rehab assignment at the rookie level Saturday and will eventually progress to Triple-A before returning to the majors. This has been a surprisingly rough year for Sanchez, a star from 2016-17 who has endured two DL stints and slashed a disappointing .188/.283/.416 in 279 plate appearances. Nevertheless, Sanchez’s return will be a welcome one for New York, which has seen backup catcher Austin Romine plummet to earth offensively after a terrific first half of the season.

Here’s more from the East Coast:

  • Left knee problems have limited Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia to 13 PAs this season and shelved him since May 31, though there is optimism he’ll return in 2018, according to manager Alex Cora (via Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald). “We don’t have anything set as far as timetables, but we’re feeling good with the progress,” Cora said of Pedroia, adding that the 35-year-old will “contribute here in the dugout” even if he’s unable to play again this season. The Pedroia-less Red Sox haven’t gotten much production from any of their second base options this year, evidenced in part by their minus-0.2 fWAR at the position, though the team has still managed easily the majors’ best record (90-40).
  • The Mets may promote one of their top prospects, first baseman Peter Alonso, when rosters expand next month, manager Mickey Callaway told Brian Heyman of MLB.com and other reporters on Saturday. The 23-year-old Alonso, whom Baseball America, MLB.com and FanGraphs regard as a top-75 prospect, has slashed .243/.345/.545 with 17 home runs in the hitter-friendly environs of Triple-A Las Vegas this season. In the process, Alonso has overtaken the struggling Dominic Smith as the Mets’ best first base prospect. Smith earned his first promotion last August, when multiple outlets viewed him as a top-50 prospect, but his stock has plunged since then. The Mets, despite being well out of contention, demoted him to Las Vegas on Friday in order to give veteran outfielder Jay Bruce an extended look at first.
  • The NL East-leading Braves expect to get closer Arodys Vizcaino and fellow relievers Shane Carle, Brandon McCarthy and Peter Moylan back by mid-September, perhaps “much sooner” in some cases, Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes. The two most effective members of that group this season have been Vizcaino and Carle, though both have battled shoulder issues. McCarthy has been on the shelf since June 24 because of knee troubles, meanwhile, and he’ll be pitching the final innings of his career when he does come back. The 34-year-old announced earlier this month that he’s going to retire at season’s end.

Yankees To Place Gary Sanchez On 10-Day DL

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The Yankees will place catcher Gary Sanchez on the 10-day disabled list, per Buster Olney of ESPN.com (via Twitter). He had only recently returned from a groin strain.

Sanchez was in the news yesterday, of course, after he turned in an uninspiring performance in last night’s game that helped seal a Yankees loss. He seemingly failed to hustle on two plays that had a direct bearing on the outcome, leading to quite a lot of angst.

This morning, though, Jon Heyman of Fancred tweeted that there was some indication Sanchez may have been injured early in the contest. Olney confirms in his tweet that an MRI revealed an injury.

On the one hand, perhaps the news offers at least a partial explanation for Sanchez’s lackluster effort. On the other, it means that the Yanks are again going to lose one of their best hitters for an as-yet-unknown stretch.

Presumably, Kyle Higashioka will end up returning to play alongside Austin Romine while Sanchez is out. That is hardly an optimal situation for a team that now has six games to make up in the AL East.

Yankees Activate Gary Sanchez

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The Yankees have activated catcher Gary Sanchez heading out of the All-Star break, per a club announcement. Backstop Kyle Higashioka was optioned to clear a roster spot.

Sanchez ended up missing just under a month with a groin strain. Higashioka produced good power numbers (.500 SLG) while joining with Austin Romine to fill in for Sanchez, but managed only a .242 OBP. Clearly, the Yanks will be pleased to welcome back one of their most talented players.

In addition to getting up to full speed after the injury, Sanchez will be looking to get his offensive numbers back to where they were in prior seasons. He’s slashing just .190/.291/.433 on the year, well off his 2016-17 output, with 14 home runs in his 265 plate appearances.

Of course, that’s still within range of league-average overall production despite the fact that Sanchez owns only a .194 batting average on balls in play. Notably, he is credited by Statcast with a .369 xwOBA that dwarfs his .311 wOBA. Clearly, it’s reasonable to expect some positive regression in the second half.

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