Major League Baseball

Gary Sánchez is a two-time All-Star with all-world power. Where will he sign?

Updated Feb. 6, 2023 8:30 p.m. ET

It wasn’t all that long ago that Gary Sánchez sparked more debate than almost any other player in Major League Baseball.

Granted, anyone that plays regularly for the New York Yankees is going to experience greater scrutiny than those who play for the 29 other teams. But Sánchez elicited a very specific kind of discourse. The trajectory of his career combined with his maddeningly inconsistent and imbalanced star-level skill set made him ripe for Yankees fans and neutral fans alike to repeatedly wonder and argue over just how good he was.

His proponents insisted he was one of the best catchers in baseball, defensive limitations be damned. His detractors couldn’t look past his clunky reputation behind the dish and didn’t think his sky-scraping dingers were worth all the strikeouts and ugly plate appearances, let alone the shaky defense.

These debates died down over the past three seasons as Sánchez has undeniably failed to recapture his All-Star peak. His time in the Bronx ran out, and those hoping that a change of scenery in Minnesota would help him rediscover his former self were surely disappointed by his 2022 campaign in which his OBP dipped below .300 and he hit just 16 homers despite getting the second-most plate appearances he’d ever gotten in a full season.

Even after a relatively ugly last few years, it’s still surprising to see Sánchez available as one of the top remaining free-agent bats. We’re still talking about a two-time All-Star catcher with all-world power who did start to show some signs of defensive progress in Minnesota, improving his framing metrics markedly from 2021 while also throwing out an above-average rate of base stealers.

The raw stats may have underwhelmed relative to his 2016-2019 prime, but he still ranked in the 92nd percentile in both barrel rate and hard-hit rate in 2022, underperforming his xwOBA by more than 30 points, which was one of the biggest gaps in baseball.

With spring training just around the corner, the clock is ticking. When you consider all the responsibilities involving connecting with a new pitching staff, catcher is the last position you would want to have missing any amount of time in the lead-up to Opening Day. That may ultimately be the case regardless of when he signs, as Sánchez is reportedly committed to play for Team Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic, which would take him away from spring training in the middle of March. Still, there has to be some level of urgency for the 30-year-old to find a new team.

If Sánchez is willing to take a minor-league deal, there’s surely a bunch of teams that would be willing to bring him in. But if we assume he’d like to go somewhere with a guaranteed big-league deal offering significant playing time, it's best to examine the 30 catcher depth charts across MLB.

NOT HAPPENING

Phillies
Orioles
Blue Jays
Royals
Braves
Dodgers
Cardinals
Mariners
Reds
Brewers
White Sox
Twins
Mets
Yankees
Cubs
Rays

Right off the bat, we can probably cross off about half the league as having too secure of a catching situation to bring in Sánchez. This includes the teams with the best catchers in baseball, teams with rising stars at the position, as well as teams who have enough veteran depth behind the plate that it would be hard to imagine adding Sánchez to the mix at this stage.

CAN'T BLOCK THE YOUNG GUYS

Angels
Athletics
Nationals
Pirates
Diamondbacks
Guardians

This is a group of teams that might not have superstars at catcher, but they have prospects or young players at the position whose playing time in 2023 would clearly take priority over a veteran like Sánchez. Oakland (Shea Langeliers), Washington (Keibert Ruiz) and Arizona (Gabriel Moreno) each acquired high-profile backstops in high-profile trades over the last few years and have a lot invested in their respective development.

Cleveland (Bo Naylor), Pittsburgh (Henry Davis, Endy Rodriguez) and the Angels (Logan O’Hoppe) might have veterans slated to start 2023 behind the dish, but each have promising prospects in the upper-minors that could be ready to take over at some point this season and thus bringing in Sánchez doesn’t make any sense.

THAT MAKES SOME SENSE

None of the following teams are perfect fits, but you can at least make an argument for each of them as reasonable landing spots for Sánchez. Don’t believe me? I’ll do my best!

Rangers
Jonah Heim and Mitch Garver are totally solid, but the Rangers’ current projected DH is Brad Miller. Even if he wouldn’t catch all that much, a rejuvenated Sánchez could absolutely add some thump to a lineup that gets real thin real quickly after the top four. If Texas wants to make a real playoff push, it's going to need a lot to go right. Betting on a Sánchez bounce-back might not be the worst idea.

Padres
Austin Nola has been reliable on defense but underwhelming on offense since arriving from Seattle via trade, and Luis Campusano has yet to blossom into any sort of impact hitter. The Pads have already brought in veteran Pedro Severino, so adding Sánchez too seems unlikely. File this under the theory that AJ Preller would always love to add another famous baseball player, especially if they were once a top prospect.

Red Sox
Speaking of the Padres, former Friar Jorge Alfaro’s recent minor-league signing with Boston made their potential fit for Sánchez much less obvious, but I’m not exactly convinced Alfaro backing up Reese McGuire is the best the Red Sox can do at that position if they have real aspirations of returning to the postseason. Boston of all teams is plenty familiar with Sánchez’s upside having faced him for so long with New York, but that may also make them all the more likely to avoid him for his flaws.

Marlins
I commend Miami for trying to strengthen its offense with two of the sport’s pre-eminent contact mavens in Jean Segura and Luis Arráez, but this lineup still could use another guy that can hit the ball over the fence and Sánchez is certainly that. It’s unclear just how much the organization believes in Nick Fortes as the future fish behind the dish but for now, Sánchez would still represent an offensive upgrade over both him and the incumbent Jacob Stallings.

Tigers
I actually like Eric Haase a good bit, so maybe this would be more of a backup situation for Sánchez, but he could still theoretically add some impact to a lineup that needs it just about as desperately as any in the entire league, if even in a part-time role. Plus, they’re moving the fences in! Easy selling point!

Astros
It’s possible the team is confident that prospect Yainer Díaz can step into the primary backup role and ultimately the starting job sooner rather than later, but we know Houston was interested in upgrading on Martin Maldonado at this position with its reported interest in Willson Contreras in free agency. Sánchez isn’t quite the upgrade that Contreras would be, but he's available at a fraction of the cost. Granted, we also know how much the Astros value Maldonado’s defensive excellence paired with their talented pitching staff, so they may just be content punting offense at the position for another year considering how good the rest of the lineup is. Still, the idea of Sánchez landing with one of New York’s biggest rivals is too juicy not to mention.

Giants
Despite Joey Bart’s development progressing at a glacial pace, it sounds as if San Francisco has no set plan at the catching position which would in theory create an obvious opening for Sánchez as an appealing possibility. The signing of veteran Roberto Pérez suggests the Giants may be prioritizing defense for their catching depth, which makes this fit a bit more tenuous. But this is clearly an enormous weak spot on a roster that has improved at several other positions this winter. Sánchez is a risk, as we know, but the upside is here for him to make a difference for a team that will need all the help it can get to compete in the NL West.

PLEASE JUST DO IT ALREADY

Rockies
If there was anywhere that could re-awaken Sánchez’s prodigious power, it’s obviously Coors Field. Beyond the 500-foot moonshots we can dream of Sánchez launching through the thin Denver air, the Rockies are also the team currently projected to have the least production from the catching position in all of MLB. Their depth chart is led by Elias Díaz, a serviceable veteran who just posted a .648 OPS, followed by Brian Serven, who hit .203 in 2022 as a 27-year-old rookie. Top prospect Drew Romo may be the catcher of the future, but he’s 21 years old and struggled offensively last year in high-A ball — he’s not exactly knocking on the door.

If the Rockies have any hope of shocking the world in 2022, they may as well be taking some upside swings in a player like Sánchez at a position that is currently a massive weakness. From Sánchez’s perspective, Colorado could be the perfect place to rediscover his offensive potential and continue to maintain his defensive improvements from 2022. Come on, Rockies — give the people what they want!

Jordan Shusterman is half of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball writer for FOX Sports. He has covered baseball for his entire adult life, most notably for MLB.com, DAZN and The Ringer. He's a Mariners fan living in the Eastern Time Zone, which means he loves a good 10 p.m. first pitch. You can follow him on Twitter @j_shusterman_.

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