Former New York Yankees catcher Gary Sánchez has returned to the free agent market.
Sánchez initially agreed to a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants back in March. But after failing to secure a big league spot in San Francisco, Sánchez will seek a new avenue in hopes of returning to a major league clubhouse after opting out of his contract with the Giants on Tuesday, according to Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic.
With the added freedom of singing elsewhere across the league, Sánchez likely won’t have an easy time on the market, as was the case this past offseason.
To put it bluntly, the demand for an aging catcher who quickly surpassed his prime days isn’t exactly high. Sánchez, a former two-time All-Star, was once a feared hitter in the batter’s box, crushing 30-plus home runs alongside Aaron Judge at the peak of his career with New York. However, those days are over.
Sánchez has always been a below-average defender behind the plate, which catches up and takes a major toll on one’s market value. This is especially the case with Sánchez, who’s a career .225 hitter with a 28.9% strikeout rate last season with the Minnesota Twins, hampering the idea of a team taking a flyer at tossing him in the lineup as their designated hitter, who can’t hit.
With 2022 not doing Sánchez any justice, coupled with just five at-bats in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, perhaps another minor league contract is the expected route for the eight-year pro moving forward.
