Left For Dead: Gary Sanchez
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“I’m not sure what Gary’s plans are from here,” Showalter said.
The words of a respected manager about a player who found himself once again on the wrong end of a deal.
Corey Sipkin/NY Post
On October 5th, 2022, after hitting an RBI double and 3-run home run, Gary Sanchez found himself without a team for the first time in his career, and all signs of him not getting one in the future. He ended his lone year with the Twins, having hit .205 with 16 home runs and 61 RBIs over 128 games. Not his worst statical year, but one that was the continuation of a downward spiral since his All Star appearance in 2019. A man who seemed destined to be an all time Yankees’s catcher, now lost in a sea of free agents.
One might think he would be an easy pickup for any team looking for either a backup catcher or a seasoned veteran on a rebuilding team. Yet, as the months went by, not a sound was made. There was the occasional video of him training as seen in Hector Gomez’s twitter feed.
Though nothing concrete came of it. Several catchers were signed in his absence. Tucker Barnhart for the Cubs, Wilson Contreras with the Cardinals, Curt Casali with the Reds, Mike Zunino for the Guardians, and many more. Only check in’s were made with Sanchez’s camp, with teams like the Giants or Brewers, even the Angels. Nothing came until March 31st when it was announced that Gary would sign a minor league deal with the Giants with a four million dollar salary if he made the ball club.
“We’re excited to see how he does,” said President of Baseball Operations for The Giants Farhan Zaidi. It seemed like the pieces were set for a comeback, but like all stories, the hills just kept coming.
“He’s hitting a woeful .191/.350/.213 without a home run and a 25% strikeout rate over 13 games.” wrote Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors. He was never brought up to the Big Leagues and opted out of his deal on May 1st, once again lost in the sea of free agents. Yet this time, he buoyed himself to the Mets eight days later, with a deal for 1.5 million dollars and 1.2 million in incentives.
He quickly found himself hitting like prime Gary, having a batting average of .300 with a home run, boosting that number to .318 before getting the call-up after putting Tim Locastro on the 60 Injured List. The Yankee now Met returns to New York, looking for a rebound from years of frustration.
He got his first hit as a Met on May 21st.
Yet, as usual, nothing ever goes as planned. In seven plate appearances, he managed that lone hit in three games. However this was more a case with too many catchers as Tomás Nido came off the IL and needed a spot on the roster. This refers back to Buck Showalter’s comment, he really didn’t have a place on the roster. So once again, he seemed destined for the free agent circuit. However an unlikely team came from the depths and claimed him off waivers. The San Diego Padres. Their main catchers were injured and had little depth to the position, so taking Sanchez was a needed boost to a position where they were getting no production.
In his first game for the yellow and grey, he got a simple base hit, the next day he did this.
And the next day, he did it again. Four days later, another, then another, and another. He currently has six home runs and 15 RBIs with the Padres, hitting .235 along the way. In fact, he was only the second player to hit five home runs in his first 10 games with the Padres, first done by Carlos Quentin in 2012.
It finally seems that Gary Sanchez, after all the ups and downs, twists and turns, has found a place he can call home for the foreseeable future. It’s hard to see him keeping this pace up, but it would be a lovely thing if he could.
