After having his mutual option declined by the Milwaukee Brewers, catcher Gary Sánchez is now one of the top free agent catchers available. Milwaukee brought the two-time All-Star to town on a one-year deal last season with a mutual option for 2025. Brewers’ general manager Matt Arnold called Sánchez “a great complement behind the plate to William Contreras and also a valuable asset in the designated-hitter role.”
Brewers Catcher Hits Free Agency: What Teams Should Know
The veteran backstop appeared in 89 games for Milwaukee, launching 11 homers and driving in 37 runs over that span. Back on the open market, Spotrac projects Gary Sánchez to be worth just over $3.6 million. Entering his age-32 season, Sánchez, with his 2.0 WAR in 2023-24, ranks fourth among free-agent catchers per MLB.com.
Signed by the Yankees as an international free agent in 2009, Sánchez was seen as a vital part of New York’s future during the mid-to-late 2010s. He was a member of the ‘Baby Bombers’ alongside Aaron Judge, Greg Bird, Gleyber Torres, Miguel Andújar, and Luis Severino. Promoted in 2016, the former top prospect became the fastest modern-era player to hit 19 home runs (45 games). Sánchez slashed .299/.376/.657 with 20 homers over 53 games and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting.
His breakout campaign came the following season, batting .278/.345/.531 with 33 home runs, 20 doubles, and 90 RBI. Sánchez also set the Yankees’ single-season home run record for a catcher, surpassing both Yogi Berra and Jorge Posada. Defensively, he had the best arm strength (87.8) and the third-best average pop time to second base (1.93 seconds) among major league catchers. But he tied Yasmani Grandal for the major league lead in passed balls (16). Still, Sánchez was named to the 2017 All-Star team and received the Silver Slugger Award after finishing the season as the best hitting catcher in the American League.
Gary Sanchez Post-2017
Injuries limited Sánchez to 89 games in 2018, batting .186/.291/.406 while leading the majors with 18 passed balls. In 2019, he became the fastest catcher and the fastest player in American League history to hit 100 home runs. Sánchez returned to the All-Star Game and broke his own franchise home run record with 34. He holds the two highest single-season home run totals ever for a Yankees catcher. While his passed balls dropped from a league-leading 18 to seven, his 15 errors led all major league catchers. He struggled in the Covid-shortened 2020 season, hitting .147/.253/.365 before manager Aaron Boone benched him after 49 games. After another lackluster season in 2021, Sánchez was included in the now-infamous trade with the Minnesota Twins for Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
Since leaving the Yankees, Gary Sánchez has bounced around the league serving mainly as a back-up catcher and designated hitter. Sánchez should attract interest from teams seeking an affordable, right-handed power bat and a backup backstop this offseason.
Main Photo Credits: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
