All eyes are on Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez heading into Sunday

The New York Yankees finally broke their seven game losing streak yesterday in a 2-1 victory over the New York Mets. The Yankees rode a very solid start from J.A. Happ and a wild pitch from Mets reliever Dellin Betances to victory.

One player who didn’t see the field yesterday was the Yankees catcher, Gary Sanchez. Erik Kratz got the start and worked extremely well with Happ. To me, yesterday wasn’t about just giving Sanchez the day off, it was about the Yankees confidence in their starting catcher.

The reason I say that is the ninth inning. The Yankees hadn’t won in seven games. They had runners on first and third in the ninth inning with the catcher spot coming up. Instead of going to Sanchez in that spot, the Yankees decided to stick with Kratz.

Abysmal 2020 for the Yankees catcher

If that doesn’t tell you about the Yankees faith in Sanchez at this point, I don’t know what will. Sanchez has been horrendous in 2020. In 25 games this year, Sanchez is batting .130 with an OBP of .256. He’s hit 5 home runs and has driven in 10 runs.

The Yankees worked with Sanchez on a new defensive style where he now catches with one knee on the ground. The idea was to help Sanchez frame pitches. Instead, there really hasn’t been a difference made, and his defense has drastically regressed this year.

He’s already at more than half of the amount of passed balls he had last year in just 1/3 of the games. Over the course of 162 games, Sanchez is on pace for 26 passed balls. Between that and his terrible hitting, it’s clear to see why he has a negative WAR.

Sanchez has to be one of the more frustrating players for the Yankees. We’ve seen the potential he has, but it just hasn’t been there over the past few seasons. Sure, he was an all-star last year, but over the last three seasons where he’s played over 200 games, Sanchez isn’t even batting .200.

The power is obviously there when he connects, but those shots are getting fewer and further between. You seriously have to ask yourself how long is his leash. Today, the Yankees have a double header against the Mets. You have to believe that all eyes will be on Gary Sanchez to see if he can be at all productive on the field and at the plate.