SF Giants release former Yankees, Twins catcher Gary Sánchez
Former New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins catcher Gary Sánchez was released by the SF Giants on Monday. Sánchez signed a minor-league deal with the Giants in early April, and there was an expectation that he could quickly find his way to the MLB roster. However, he struggled mightily at Triple-A, hitting .164/.319/.182 with 19 strikeouts in 69 plate appearances. While he was cut by the organization, Andrew Baggarly and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that he exercised the May 1st opt-out in his contract.
Gary Sánchez celebrates in the dugout with his teammates on the Twins. (2022)
Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Sánchez was once a top young catcher in MLB with the Bronx Bombers. A former top-100 prospect, Sánchez exploded onto the majors as a rookie in 2016, hitting 20 home runs in just 53 games with an elite .299/.376/.657 triple-slash. Over the next three years, Sánchez racked up at least 30 home runs in a season twice and earned two All-Star selections.
However, the long-term effects of major shoulder surgery in 2018 took their toll on Sánchez over time. His already below-average defense behind the plate began to falter even more while his once standout power began to dissipate. Over the past three seasons, Sánchez hit just .195/.287/.394 with roughly 20 home runs per season (adjusting for the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign).
Sánchez is considered to be a subpar defensive backstop, but most publicly available defensive metrics have evaluated him surprisingly positively in recent years. Last season, he recorded his first positive framing metrics since 2018, the best-passed ball rate and fielding percentage of his career, and threw out a respectable 28% of opposing base stealers with the Twins.
While Sánchez could re-sign with the Giants on another minor-league deal, it seems like the organization will go in a different direction. Having already promoted 2020 first-round pick Patrick Bailey (Giants #21 prospect) received an early-season promotion to Triple-A, the SF Giants seem prepared to move forward with Bailey and Ricardo Genovés as their top catching depth in the upper minors.
