With Mets‘ offseason acquisition Omar Narváez still on the 60-day IL due to a calf strain he suffered in early April and Tomás Nido struggling offensively, the Mets have made a move to add some depth to the catcher position.
The Mets signed catcher Gary Sánchez:
According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, Gary Sánchez is heading to the Mets on a minor-league contract.
Sánchez’s major league journey started in 2009 when the Yankees signed him as an international free agent. He rose through the minor leagues, becoming a top prospect before making his major league debut on October 3rd, 2015.
Sánchez spent the first half of the 2016 season in the minor leagues before being called up in August, and in 53 games, he hit .299 with 20 home runs and 42 RBIs which was enough to make him the runner-up for AL Rookie of the Year.
The Dominican Republic native broke out in 2017, making his first all-star game and winning a silver slugger after hitting .278 with 33 home runs and 90 RBIs.
Sánchez had an injury-riddled 2018 before bouncing back in 2019, starting the all-star game behind the plate and hitting .232 with a career-high 34 home runs and 77 RBIs.
2020 was the beginning of the end for Sánchez as a Yankee, as he hit just .147 with 10 home runs and 24 RBIs before being made the backup during his struggles in the 2021 season.
In the offseason, the Yankees shipped Sánchez, alongside Gio Urshela, to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for Josh Donaldson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and Ben Rortvedt.
In his one season in Minnesota, Sánchez played in a career-high 128 games but hit just .205 with 16 home runs and 61 RBIs. The Twins let him walk in free agency before the San Francisco Giants signed him to a minor league contract in March.
In 16 minor league games with Triple-A Sacramento, Sánchez hit just .164 with only one extra-base hit before opting out of his contract and becoming a free agent.
This is a low-risk, high-reward situation for the blue and orange as the Mets will hope Sánchez can revitalize his career in Syracuse and become a valuable backup to former top prospect Francisco Álvarez.