San Francisco Giants catcher Gary Sánchez
On Monday, the SF Giants made the decision to part ways with Gary Sánchez, a former catcher for the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins. Sánchez had inked a minor-league agreement with the Giants in the beginning of April, with hopes that he could swiftly make his return to the MLB lineup. Regrettably, his performance at the Triple-A level was far from stellar, as evidenced by his .164 batting average, .319 on-base percentage, and .182 slugging percentage, along with 19 strikeouts in 69 plate appearances. Following this struggle, Sánchez was released by the organization. Notably, Andrew Baggarly and Ken Rosenthal from The Athletic revealed that he chose to enact the opt-out clause in his contract, which was set for May 1st.
Once regarded as a prominent young catcher in MLB during his time with the Bronx Bombers, Sánchez's trajectory was notable. As a former top-100 prospect, he burst onto the major league scene in 2016, making a significant impact as a rookie. Within just 53 games, he impressively smashed 20 home runs while maintaining an exceptional .299/.376/.657 triple-slash line. The ensuing three years saw Sánchez achieve at least 30 home runs in a single season twice and secure two All-Star selections. Unfortunately, the enduring repercussions of a significant shoulder surgery in 2018 began to erode Sánchez's performance over time. His already below-average defensive skills behind the plate deteriorated further, and his once standout power began to fade. Over the preceding three seasons, Sánchez managed a meager batting average of .195, coupled with an on-base percentage of .287 and a slugging percentage of .394, all while averaging around 20 home runs per season (adjusting for the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign).
Despite being perceived as a subpar defensive catcher, it's noteworthy that several publicly accessible defensive metrics have surprisingly depicted Sánchez in a positive light in recent years. In the previous season, he attained his first positive framing metrics since 2018, achieved the highest passed ball rate and fielding percentage of his career, and effectively threw out 28% of opposing base stealers while playing for the Twins.
Although the possibility exists for Sánchez to rejoin the Giants under a new minor-league agreement, indications suggest that the organization is poised for a different course of action. With the promotion of Patrick Bailey, the Giants' 2020 first-round selection and currently ranked as the organization's #21 prospect, to the Triple-A level earlier in the season, it appears that the SF Giants are ready to advance with Bailey and Ricardo Genovés as their primary catching options in the higher tiers of minor league baseball.