There were 21 catchers available this offseason who had produced even as low as a -1.5 WAR over the last two seasons, and 17 of those have signed.
Of the other four, two – Kurt Suzuki and Jason Castro – retired, and the other two are headed to the World Baseball Classic. One is Robinson Chirinos, who turns 39 in June, has a -1.1 WAR the last two years, and hit .179 in 67 games with the Orioles in 2020.
The other? Gary Sanchez.
Yes, the Sanchino is still a free agent as of March 1, although he’s likely already in Miami getting ready to be part of Team Dominican Republic in the WBC, which begins pool play March 11. But, given that the Yankees have lost third catcher Ben Rortvedt and likely Double-A starter Austin Wells to injuries that will keep them out for at least the first month of the season, if not more – could a Yankees-Sanchez reunion be in both players’ best interests?
Think about this: even if Sanchez has a monster WBC, there don’t seem to be any MLB jobs available, or else he likely would already have one. That leaves him on a minor-league deal, where he’d still be a little behind the eight-ball given he’d be reporting to camp no sooner than March 16 and possibly later than that, depending on how far the DR goes in the tournament.
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However, with the Yankees, he’d be in a familiar setting, and he’d have some experience with at least a few of the pitchers likely headed for Triple-A. And, with Wells and Rortvedt out, the Yankees have exactly three catchers with experience at Double-A or above: Josh Breaux (41 games at AAA), Rodolfo Duran (who spent last season at Somerset and has four games of AAA experience) and 27-year-old Mickey Gasper, who got to Somerset in late-August 2021 and has played 80 games there.
What happens if, say, Higashioka gets hurt during the WBC, or he or Jose Trevino take a foul tip to the mask, or a foul ball to the foot, or pull a hammy in the first week or two of the season? Breaux, who was a second-round pick in 2018, started 2021 in High-A and ended 2022 in Triple-A, so he’s a fast riser but still only has 41 games of AAA experience, 25 of which came behind the plate, so they’d either have to sign a scrap heap pickup (like Chirinos?) or rely on Breaux or Duran.
Given the Yankees’ proclivities to carry three catchers at the Triple-A level (with one often inactive), adding Sanchez on a minor-league deal would allow Breaux to continue to develop while still splitting time behind the plate and at DH, with Gasper and Duran there for one to be the third AAA catcher and the other to back up former first-round pick Anthony Seigler at Somerset, where he’ll likely now be the primary catcher until Wells returns.
The same could go for Sanchez, as the Yankees only have a few priority prospects at Triple-A (Breaux, Anthony Volpe, and perhaps Oswald Peraza or Estevan Florial) needing playing time, so most of the roster will be players with MLB experience moving around as needed.
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A minor-league deal with a June 1 opt-out might be the best of all worlds for both parties, giving the Yankees proven and known depth while they get healthy and Sanchez a showcase for two months or more in case need arises around the league.
And maybe, perhaps, there’s still that guy who hit nearly .300 in half a season as a rookie, and bashed 33 homers with 99 RBI in 2016?
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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