Giants release former Yankees catcher Gary Sánchez

Updated May. 2, 2023 6:01 p.m. ET

Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) — The San Francisco Giants released former New York Yankees catcher Gary Sánchez on Tuesday.

Sánchez, who signed a minor league deal in March, had a May 1 opt-out clause in his contract.

The 30-year-old Sánchez hadn't appeared with the Giants this season, instead playing for Triple-A Sacramento. He struggled there, hitting .164 with no homers and eight RBIs.

The Giants have catchers Joey Bart and Blake Sabol on their active roster.

Sánchez made the All-Star Game twice during a seven-year stint with the Yankees. He hit .299 with 20 homers in 2016 and .278 with 33 homers and 90 RBIs in 2017.

He hit .186 in 2018 and just .147 in 49 games in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. He improved a bit in 2021 when he hit .204 with 23 homers and 54 RBIs.

New York traded Sánchez to Minnesota in March 2022 with Gio Urshela for Josh Donaldson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ben Rortvedt.

Sánchez hit .205 with 16 homers and 61 RBIs in 128 games for Minnesota last year while making 80 starts at catcher.

___

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports