Why Gary Sánchez Makes Sense as Option for Pirates (+)
Entering the offseason, catcher didn’t seem like it was going to be an area of need for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Yet the Pirates have at least considered bringing in outside catching help in wake of Endy Rodríguez’s season-ending elbow surgery and carried-over questions surrounding Henry Davis’ defensive abilities.
One backstop the Pirates reportedly have interest in is veteran Gary Sánchez, who got his career back on track last year with the San Diego Padres.
Sánchez makes sense for the Pirates for a number of reasons, starting with his offense. No, he’s never been an elite hitter (.225 career batting average) or an on-base machine (career .309 OBP). But he has been a consistent power threat over the course of his career.
In 741 games in the big leagues, Sánchez has slugged 173 home runs, which is a 38-homer pace over the course of a 162-game season. The 31-year-old was an All-Star in 2017 and 2019 while with the New York Yankees when he hit 33 and a career-high 34 home runs, respectively.
Last year while with the Padres, Sánchez slugged 19 round-trippers despite playing in only 72 games. He likely would have hit even more had it not been for a season-ended right wrist fracture sustained in September.
His power presence would be a welcomed addition to the Pirates, who finished 28th in the major leagues last season with 159 home runs. Only the Cleveland Guardians (124) and Washington Nationals (151) had fewer.
Sánchez has also been a steady run producer. His 46 RBIs last year while in San Diego despite playing less than half a season’s worth of games would have been fifth on the Pirates.
While what he would bring with the bat to the Pittsburgh Pirates’ lineup would help, what he could bring defensively would be even more valuable. I don’t think anyone would have seen that coming two years ago.
In 2021 while with the Yankees, Sánchez amassed minus-10 defensive runs saved in what was a putrid season behind the plate. Not to pile on too much, but Sánchez was among the worst blockers and pitch framers in the league.
He showed substantial improvement across the board during the 2022 season with the Minnesota Twins, and took an even bigger leap forward last year in San Diego.
In 63 games behind the plate with the Friars, Sánchez posted a career-best seven defensive runs saved. Additionally, he was towards the top of the leaderboards with a 1.90 average pop time and became a better than league-average pitch framer.
As mentioned earlier, the Pirates probably still don’t feel totally comfortable with Davis behind the plate. In Sánchez, Pittsburgh would be getting a strong defender after vast improvements over the past couple seasons.
Each of the previous two offseasons, general manager Ben Cherington has signed a free-agent catcher. Roberto Pérez was brought in for the 2022 season, and Austin Hedges was signed last offseason. In both instances, the Pirates showed a preference for defense.
Signing Sánchez can take some of the pressure off if Davis continues to struggle with his defense. Given how little the Pirates used Davis behind the plate last season, it’s hard to envision he made substantial leaps and bounds to the point where he can serve as the primary catcher over the course of a 162-game season.
For what he would give the Pittsburgh Pirates on offense and how much they need a defensive insurance policy behind the plate, signing Sánchez could be worth it.