Gary Sanchez's Current Wandering Lifestyle Persists with Baltimore Orioles
Gary Sanchez's Current Wandering Lifestyle Persists with Baltimore Orioles
Nine years ago, Gary Sanchez experienced a two-month spree where he smashed 20 home runs for the Yankees in 53 matches. In a modest sample size, Sanchez's standout debut with regular game time was sufficient for him to finish 51 points behind Michael Fulmer in the AL Rookie of the Year vote.
Following this, Sanchez produced 33 homers after missing a substantial portion of the initial month and teamed up with Aaron Judge and Luis Severino to form a youthful group that spearheaded the Yankee rebuild following an unusual sale and consecutive seasons with only one postseason appearance – a 3-0 loss to the Houston Astros in the 2015 wild-card game.
At that time, it was difficult not to imagine that Sanchez was the Yankees' long-term catcher option, but his tenure with the team began to deteriorate, culminating in a trade to the Minnesota Twins on March 13, 2022, in a trade that ultimately proved to be unfavorable for the Yankees, bringing back Josh Donaldson to New York a few years too late.
Since his last game with the Yankees in the 2021 wild-card game, Sanchez has found himself on his fifth team – the most recent being the Baltimore Orioles. He inked a one-year, $8.5 million contract with the Orioles on Saturday while baseball fans waited for Juan Soto to make his move, which ultimately transpired when he signed with the Mets.
Sanchez was traded following a string of disappointing batting averages of .204, .147, .232, and .186 across a period of 400 games from 2018 through 2021. Despite this, he managed to hit 85 homers during this time frame, building upon the 53 homers he had hit in his first 175 matches with the Yankees.
Since the trade, Sanchez has transitioned into something of a wandering nomad, capable of making up for missing categories in daily lineups. He was a well-liked teammate during one season with the Twins but failed to secure a major league contract during that offseason.
Instead, he agreed to a minor league deal with the San Francisco Giants before exercising his opt-out. He then joined the Mets for three games in May 2023 before playing 72 games for the San Diego Padres as Soto's teammate.
Sanchez spent the 2022 season hitting .220 in 89 games with the Brewers, contributing 11 homers and 37 RBIs to a surprising NL Central Division champion.
Now, Sanchez will serve as Adley Rutschman's backup, playing half his home games in a venue where he has hit 11 homers in 33 games spanning 114 at-bats. This represents his highest number in any ballpark apart from Yankee Stadium, where he hit seven in seven games in 2019.
Previously achieved success may have influenced the signing, but it was not the primary motivation. The Orioles wanted a backup for Rutschman after James McCann had fulfilled this role for the past two seasons while continuing to be paid $19 million by the Mets.
Sanchez is now a seasoned veteran who the Orioles hope can contribute some power and potentially improve his batting average in a part-time role under less pressure on a team aiming for the AL East title with its youthful core, which includes Sanchez's former Yankee teammates, who likely would not have re-signed him after the 2022 season had they not traded him to Minnesota to kickstart his recent nomadic journey.
After his tenure with the Yankees ended, Gary Sanchez explored free agency but struggled to secure a major league contract. später, he signed a one-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles, where he will serve as backup catcher to Adley Rutschman.
In recent years, Gary Sanchez has faced challenges securing a permanent spot on MLB rosters after becoming a free agent, leading him to sign a one-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles where he'll support Adley Rutschman.