The Brewers are signing free agent catcher Gary Sánchez, reviews Jon Heyman of The New York Publish. It will likely be $7MM plus an possibility, per Heyman. That’ll be a one-year deal plus a mutual possibility, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
Sánchez, 31, had a irritating time getting a job final yr however made essentially the most of it when he lastly obtained one. He initially signed a minor league take care of the Giants however opted out when that membership wouldn’t give him a roster spot. He landed one other minor league take care of the Mets and did get known as as much as the massive leagues however was shortly placed on waivers.
A declare by the Padres was the chance he wanted. He went on to take 260 plate appearances over 72 video games with San Diego, hitting 19 residence runs in that temporary time. His batting common and on-base proportion had been low, as his pretty regular for him, however his .218/.292/.500 batting line in that point nonetheless translated to a wRC+ of 115 indicating he was 15% higher than the league common hitter.
With Sánchez, the facility has at all times been there, however his protection has been extra questionable all through his profession. He appears to have improved over time, nonetheless. Defensive Runs Saved has given him optimistic grades in every of the previous two years, together with a +7 mark in 2023. Every of FanGraphs, Statcast and Baseball Prospectus thought of his pitch framing to be a optimistic over the previous two seasons. His throwing arm has at all times been thought of robust along with his blocking a weak point, although even his blocking grades have improved prior to now few seasons as properly.
His robust marketing campaign in 2023 was minimize quick when he suffered a wrist fracture in early September. Between that and the late begin, he solely obtained into 72 contests with the Friars however nonetheless managed to supply 1.8 wins above alternative within the eyes of FanGraphs and a couple of.5 per the calculations of Baseball Reference.
When it comes to intangibles, his tenure with the Padres overlapped with the breakout of Blake Snell final yr. By way of 10 outings final yr, Snell had an earned run common of 5.04. However he posted a tiny 1.18 ERA over his remaining 22 begins, decreasing his season ERA to 2.25 and incomes himself a second Cy Younger Award. Sánchez caught the primary 18 of these 22 video games, lacking the final 4 as a result of aforementioned wrist damage. Snell spoke positively of their relationship to Dennis Lin of The Athletic in the course of the season.
Regardless of the robust season, there are considerations with Sánchez. As talked about, he was a poor blocker earlier in his profession. He’s by no means been an enormous batting common or on-base man, other than the very early components of his profession. Strikeouts have often been an issue, along with his 26.8% profession fee a couple of ticks north of typical averages. His energy additionally eluded him in 2022, as he hit simply 16 residence runs in 128 video games for the Twins that yr.
However general, the package deal has attraction. Other than that energy outage with the Twins, he’s at all times hit 20-35 residence runs or has no less than has been on tempo to take action. The protection has been a wrestle however has improved over time. In each full season relationship again to 2016, he’s produced no less than 1.3 fWAR. Even in the event you ignore the recent begin to his profession and take a look at 2018 to the current, he’s tenth amongst energetic catchers in fWAR.
He acquired curiosity from the Padres and Pirates this winter however will find yourself in an fascinating touchdown spot with the Brewers. They have already got a very good catcher in William Contreras. That maybe suggests Sánchez will probably be a form of backup catcher however part-time designated hitter. The appropriate-handed-hitting Sánchez has pretty impartial platoon splits for his profession however was glorious in opposition to southpaws final yr. He hit .267/.304/.680 in opposition to lefties, 162 wRC+, however .194/.282/.406 in opposition to righties for a 90 wRC+.
The Brewers have a bunch of outfielders and Sánchez could have to separate the DH time with them, however the platoon scenario would possibly work properly there. Every of Christian Yelich, Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick and Jake Bauers hit from the left facet. Maybe Sánchez can provide Contreras the occasional breather behind the plate whereas additionally taking some at-bats away from that group by slotting in because the DH in opposition to robust lefties. This signing could maybe bode poorly for Eric Haase, who was signed by the Brewers in December. He’s typically thought of a bat-first catcher however struggled badly on the plate in 2023. He also can play the outfield however the Brewers have tons of fellows battling for jobs on the market. Since he’s out of choices, he could discover himself squeeze off the roster in some unspecified time in the future.
Extra to come back.
