On last Friday’s YES Postgame Show, which turned out to be a season post-mortem for the Yankees, Buck Showalter noted that whether stats were good or bad, “you have to be leery of grading out players based on this season.”
That hasn’t stopped literally everyone from panning Gary Sanchez and wondering about his future in New York – and no one knows that better than fellow YES analyst and former Yankees catcher John Flaherty, who stopped by Moose and Maggie to discuss Sanchez’s struggles and future.
“I’ve wavered on this, and thank goodness I don’t have to make the decision, because I could see this both ways,” Flash said. “You know I’ve been very critical of some of Gary’s work behind the plate, but I’ve also praised and recognized how talented he is – and that’s probably why it’s so frustrating.”
Flash did echo Showalter’s point and agreed with it for the most part, but the Yankees have to go by what they saw from Sanchez this year, given his adjustments defensively.
“Clearly the season wasn’t great, the one-knee stance behind the plate…his framing numbers got better, but it was told to me at the beginning that they didn’t expect Gary to block balls to his left and right from that stance,” he said. “The expectations of what they’re looking for behind the plate have changed, and it’s going to be a very tough decision, as he’s in line to get a nice raise.”
Offensively, Sanchez has never been Tony Gwynn in the average column, although he’s probably still better than a .147 true talent – but for all the power, Flaherty isn’t the only one who has noticed a glaring hole in the backstop’s game.
“The one thing I will say is that we noticed pitchers throwing fastballs right by him, middle of the plate and up,” Flash said. “To me, that would be concerning, because we know that high velocity is a part of this game.”
Flaherty praised Kyle Higashioka’s blocking ability, specifically in Game 4 of the ALDS, noting that Sanchez “would not have been able to do that” and that it made a difference. That said, Higgy might not be the right choice – but neither, Flash notes, might J.T. Realmuto.
“Obviously, Realmuto is a great player; I’m a big fan of his entire game,” Flash said, “but I just don’t know if that’s something you want to get into. The Steinbrenners have been very upfront with how they spend their money, and I don’t know if throwing huge contracts at some of these guys as they’re getting older is the smartest way to go.”
But what about another option? And should the Yankees find a way to move on?
“Maybe? That’s a hard one. There’s still a lot of upside with Gary, and I could see him going somewhere and rebounding and being a very good player again,” Flash said. “But, you’ve seen teams that have emphasized the defensive part of catching, and when you look at the Yankees lineup, do you really need your catcher hitting ninth to be an offensive threat? That may be one way they can go: bring in two defensive guys, maybe a righty and a lefty, maybe platoon them – but I would not be surprised if Sanchez rebounds, either in a Yankees uniform or somewhere else.”
Listen to Flash’s entire segment below, and as always, check out more on-demand audio from Moose & Maggie, or tune in every day to the WFAN.com or Twitch.TV/WFAN livestreams of the show!
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