The New York Yankees are fortunate enough to have one of the deepest farm systems in all of Major League Baseball – especially their catchers. Gary Sanchez has been the starting catcher for the Yankees for three consecutive seasons, and if he remains with the club for the 2020 season that won’t change.
Austin Romine has been in the Yankee organization his entire career and has been behind Sanchez for the starting spot, and it’s no question that Romine has some serious talent. It’s believed that if Romine chose to walk during free agency, he could land himself a starting role on pretty much any MLB team.
Being only 30 years old, Romine is young enough where he could land himself a nice contract. He slashed .239/.281/.366 on the year which doesn’t resemble how talented he actually is. Being the backup catcher doesn’t allow you to fully find a rhythm offensively since you’re only playing every few days.
The question is: is he infatuated with playing in pinstripes? Playing in the Bronx for the Yankees is a special thing, and if he loves it there’s a good chance he’ll stay put. I also think the New York Yankees like Romine as their backup catcher. If he wants to stay put they’ll most likely give him a good contract.
Teams that could be seeking a new catcher and potentially show an interest in Romine are the Astros and the Braves. Astros’ catcher Martin Maldonado is entering free agency and the Braves have made it no secret that they are in the need of a starting catcher.