Gary Sánchez Gets Contract, Matthew Boyd Released at MLB's Non-Tender Deadline

With the passing of Major League Baseball's non-tender deadline, a number of players hit the open market on Tuesday night. Yankees catcher Gary Sánchez was not one of them.

The 28-year-old backstop was tendered a contract worth an estimated $8 million for 2022, according to Dan Martin of the New York Post. In 117 games last year, Sánchez hit .204/.307/.423 with 23 home runs and 54 RBIs. He has posted a batting average of .204 or lower in three of his last four seasons. 

The Yankees reportedly looked into the catching market ahead of Tuesday's deadline, per MLB Network's Jon Heyman, before opting to retain Sánchez for another year. Sánchez will be eligible for free agency after the 2022 season.

While Sánchez will remain with his current team, others were released and are now free agents. Here's a list of some notable players below:

• LHP Matthew Boyd, Tigers: Injuries to his throwing arm limited Boyd to just 15 starts last year, but the left-hander performed well in that span. Boyd, who turns 31 in February, had a 3.89 ERA over 78.2 innings. From 2018-19, he made 63 starts with a 4.48 ERA and 4.38 FIP, averaging over 10 strikeouts per nine innings.
• OF Lewis Brinson, Marlins: The key return of the Christian Yelich trade, Brinson's bat never developed into that of an everyday player. In over 1,000 plate appearances with Miami, he hit .203/.248/.325, striking out 28% of the time. The speedster won't turn 28 until May and could be a reclamation project for a team willing to invest in developing his hit tool.
• RHP Richard Rodríguez, Braves: Pittsburgh's former closer was acquired by Atlanta midseason after posting a 2.82 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 37 games for the Pirates. He wasn't nearly as effective with the Braves, allowing six home runs with just nine strikeouts in 26 innings, and was left off Atlanta's postseason roster.
• RHP Chad Kuhl, Pirates: It wasn't long ago that Kuhl had some serious trade value. He went 8-11 with a 4.35 ERA across 31 starts as a 24-year-old in 2017 but has been hampered by injuries ever since, including undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2019. Kuhl had a 4.82 ERA over 80.1 innings last year, splitting time as a starter and reliever.
• 1B/DH Dan Vogelbach, Brewers: The slugging Vogelbach put together much of the same results he had in previous years, albeit in fewer plate appearances. He slashed .219/.349/.381 with nine homers in 258 plate appearances, posting a 101 wRC+. The National League is expected to adopt the designated hitter, which would open up potential landing spots for him.