Sep 5, 2020; New York City, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) singles against the New York Mets during the first inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
As stated earlier this off-season, New York Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman made it clear that the catcher position will be reevaluated going into the 2021 season.
Necessary changes will be made, as Gary Sanchez struggled significantly to take a step forward during the 2020 campaign. He finished the season with a .147 batting average and a 36% strikeout rate. He had a -0.1 WAR, indicating he actually was a weakness for the Yankees, given they replaced him with Kyle Higashiosaka during the postseason.
Unfortunately, Sanchez has all the talent in the world but simply can’t remain consistent. Defensively, he is decent at times but struggles with passed balls and framing pitches. In addition, he strikes out an exorbitant amount and simply cannot be relied on as a contact hitter. While he does focus on the long ball, that one factor alone does not supplement all of his deficiencies.
If you take a look at Higashioka, who hit .250 with four homers and a 22.9% strikeout rate, you can see that he actually performed better than Sanchez in many categories. He finished with a 0.5 WAR, indicating he was actually beneficial to his team.
Nonetheless, as the Yankees continue to evaluate the position and see if they need to make a change, there are three catchers this off-season that could present opportunities.
The big one is, of course, JT Realmuto. The Philadelphia Philly is hitting free agency with a full head of steam, finishing the 2020 season with a .266 average, 11 homers, 32 RBIs, and a 1.7 WAR. Given the smaller sample size, looking at his 2019 numbers is more beneficial. He hit .275 with 25 homers and 83 RBIs. Ultimately, he’s one of the best hitting catchers in the MLB and is a fantastic fielder who represented a 27.8 fielding and positional adjustment combined average.
Essentially, Realmuto is preparing to reset the market for catchers and potentially break monetary records. This past season, he allowed one passed ball and two errors over 36 games. Adding him to the Yankees would immediately give them one of the best catchers in baseball for the long-haul. However, it would have to be accompanied by a Gary Sanchez trade, acquiring some sort of asset in the process.
I don’t believe this is the most likely move for the Yankees, as they are trying to save money and not break any records with contracts.
Another fantastic catching option is James McCann. This past season, he hit .289 with seven homers and 15 RBIs. He posted a 27% strikeout rate but was both positive in WAR and defensive adjustment. He has been a bit inconsistent throughout his career, but since joining the White Sox in 2019, McCann has taken his game to another level. Defensively, he posted a .985 fielding percentage with four errors and three passed balls in 2020.
McCann is also expected to be quite expensive, valued at a bit over $10 million per year. Based on the market, he might earn a little bit more but shouldn’t be an astronomically expensive option.
If the Yankees want to enter a bidding war for McCann, he certainly would upgrade the position, but again, I don’t see them going hard into free agency with an open checkbook, especially with DJ LeMahieu and knees in the pitching category.
Another option that has been reported recently is Yadier Molina, who is expected to earn around $9-10 million per season. Molina is a future Hall of Famer but has seen his production fall off in recent years. Unless the Yankees can sign him to a short term deal, the 38-year-old catcher shouldn’t be a stopgap solution for Cashman and his team. This past season, Molina hit .262 with four homers and 16 RBIs.
What makes Molina great is his ability to create contact and get on base. When hitting balls in play, he hits .296 over his career, a solid number that suggests he makes impressive contact based on his margins compared to his batting average. His fielding has taken a hit with age, so I don’t think the Yankees will go this route, but testing the market and learning as much as you can never is a bad idea.
This post was published on 2020-11-13 08:38
