Yankees finally make big decision on Gary Sanchez



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With this tender drama resolved, with Gary Sanchez more likely than not to be the 2021 Yankees’ opening day receiver (whenever opening day ends), let’s plan ahead for the results and outcomes. associated analyzes:

If it works? Credit Sanchez and the Yankees.

If it fails? Only blame the Yankees.

The Yankees offered Sanchez a contract on Wednesday for his 28th birthday (hours after hailing this milestone in life on the team’s Twitter account), a commitment that would make Sanchez the club’s de facto starting receiver. While it’s true that the Yankees can cut Sanchez to spring training and pay him severance fees well below half of his 2021 salary (a figure to be determined, but likely not much more than the $ 5 million dollars from last season), the nature of capturing the position, not to mention the Yankees’ desire to cut payroll, will prevent the team from accumulating there.

Although I do not agree with this decision, I understand it. Sanchez’s natural tools could be seen even through the horror haze that made up his 2020 season. The high ceiling remains, though you often feel like you need a Paul Bunyan-sized stepladder for reach it.

Dude, oh man, though, if ever a player offered warnings to stay away he was in trouble as a teenager do-well, it’s Sanchez.

Gary Sanchez
Gary Sanchez
Getty Images

In Sanchez’s six years with the Yankees, the Yankees employed two managers, two pitching coaches, three hitting coaches and three catching instructors. Naturally, not all of those changes happened just because of Sanchez (and the inclusion of 2015 Yankees coach Jeff Pentland, who saw two Sanchez at bat that season before being let go for d other reasons, is downright dishonest). Still, Sanchez’s erratic performances on both sides of the ball and the Yankees’ inability to fully exploit his potential is a bottom line in this era of the Baby Bombers.

Seems like the right time to stand up for Sanchez’s character and work ethic, the former of which has never been as bad as you think, the latter has improved dramatically, according to many around him. . It is important to separate the person from the player. Because the player, without a doubt, is infuriating. It is a human game Whac-A-Mole. In 2019, he improved to block shots… and got worse to frame them. He’s found himself badly this year, in addition to his epic struggles to kick the ball.

A scout from another club watched a large sample of Sanchez this year and said, on condition of anonymity, “It’s a potential rebound.” If I knew what the Yankees need to do to produce that rebound, I would charge them a healthy fee for such insight, but here’s what I know: if they want this high-risk, high-reward decision. to pay, they have to somehow create a more cohesive version of Sanchez. His streaks can be grueling – he has a .486 OPS career as of July – and his regular playoff struggles (he has a .608 OPS in October) create constant turmoil, with the club ultimately turning to Kyle Higashioka for most short run of the 2020 Yankees playoffs.

Higashioka has shown real promise and the Yankees can hit their targets with the former Post columnist starting 100 games behind the plate, serving as a solid drummate and completing a few home runs. You want depth at every position, however, so you’d rather have two good options on your big league roster rather than one trump and one regret.

If the Yankees solve Sanchez, it’ll be a big win for them, overtake someone they could have thrown at no cost, and for Sanchez, put it all together. If Sanchez provides more angst than pleasure, if Sanchez cheats on them twice, it’s a shame for the employers, not the employee.

Hi, kudos to the Yankees for their daring with Sanchez. Now they just have to be right.

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