The Orioles have agreed to a one-year take care of catcher Gary Sanchez, in keeping with a report from Jon Heyman of The New York Submit, who provides that the deal ensures Sanchez $8.5MM. Sanchez is represented by MDR Sports activities Administration.
Sanchez, who celebrated his thirty second birthday earlier this week, returns to the AL East after spending the primary seven seasons of his MLB profession with the Yankees. The primary few years of his profession noticed him set up himself as one of many higher offensive catchers in baseball with a .246/.328/.518 slash line in 327 video games via the top of the 2019 season. In that point, he made two All-Star video games and clobbered 105 dwelling runs in 1576 plate appearances. That 30-to-35 homer energy helped to make up for Sanchez’s middling protection behind the plate, however issues took a flip for the more severe when he starter to wrestle on offense. After putting out at a 24.1% clip via the top of the 2019 season, his 2020-22 seasons noticed that price tick as much as 29.5%. In the meantime, Sanchez’s dwelling run energy started to endure as he hit simply 49 homers in 294 video games. This era even noticed his protection drop from roughly common to just about unplayable, together with a -12 determine in Statcast’s catcher protection metric in the course of the 2021 season.
These struggles led the Yankees to commerce Sanchez to the Twins previous to the 2022 season, the place he continued to wrestle on the plate however managed to bounce again a bit on protection. Sanchez then entered free company however didn’t discover a deal earlier than the 2022 season started. He finally signed with the Mets in the course of the season however lasted simply three video games on the membership’s roster earlier than spending the remainder of the season in a Padres uniform. With San Diego, Sanchez managed to bounce again and flash among the energy he had proven throughout his Yankees days, slashing .218/.292/.500 with 19 homers in simply 260 plate appearances and a 114 wRC+. That earned Sanchez a guranteed deal in Milwaukee this previous season, the place he served as a again up for William Contreras at catcher and sometimes discovered his approach into the primary base/DH combine as nicely.
Since leaving the Bronx, Sanchez has typically had the look of a strong if unspectacular catching possibility. In that point, he’s slashed .212/.291/.412 with a 96 wRC+ that’s kind of according to his manufacturing for the Brewers final 12 months, and he’s finished so whereas offering the roughly common protection he provided early in is profession. That’s sufficient to make him a top quality again up catching possibility for nearly any group, and he’ll take over the position vacated by James McCann when he elected free company final month as Adley Rutschman’s associate within the Orioles catching tandem. Along with sharing catching duties, Sanchez also can serve a secondary position of serving to enhance the membership’s offense towards left-handed pitching by offering a righty-swinging various to Ryan O’Hearn at DH on days the place he isn’t filling in for Rutschman behind the plate. That makes Sanchez the second participant the membership has added at present who may present a lift to their offense towards southpaws, becoming a member of Tyler O’Neill who agreed to a three-year deal with the Orioles earlier at present.
Whereas the Orioles had inner choices to function their secondary catcher behind Rutschman resembling Rene Pinto and Blake Hunt, the membership made clear in latest weeks that they hoped so as to add a extra established participant to that blend. That included a reported curiosity in reunion with James McCann, however studies appeared to point that McCann may look to discover a multi-year deal in free company whereas the Orioles have been hoping to discover a one-year association given the presence of high catching prospect Samuel Basallo of their minor league system. To discover a high quality participant prepared to simply accept a one-year deal and a back-up job that gained’t assure common taking part in time, it appears as if Baltimore could have needed to go excessive to land Sanchez; his one-year, $8.5MM assure matches the assure Danny Jansen landed from the Rays yesterday to function their common starter behind the plate and much exceeds the $3MM assure he obtained from the Brewers final 12 months.
That willingness to stretch financially with the intention to land the precise match for his or her roster is a luxurious GM Mike Elias and his entrance workplace haven’t had in earlier winters, when the Angelos household owned the group. New proprietor David Rubenstein has given the membership the flexibility to develop payroll considerably, nonetheless, and the Orioles now challenge to open the 2025 season with a $122MM payroll in keeping with RosterResource. It appears cheap to anticipate that the membership’s payroll may proceed to climb from right here as nicely, with Baltimore seemingly poised to show their consideration to the beginning pitching market the place they’ve been linked to Jack Flaherty and Nathan Eovaldi in the event that they aren’t capable of retain ace Corbin Burnes. As for the catching market, Sanchez joins Austin Hedges, Jacob Stallings, Kyle Higashioka, and Jansen in having already come off the board in what’s been the fastest-moving a part of the positional market this winter. A number of high quality choices stay obtainable, nonetheless, together with Carson Kelly and Elias Diaz.
