The New York Yankees front office saw the same Gary Sanchez that the rest of Yankeedom did, poor on offense, disastrous at times on defense. And when asked about Sanchez, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported that Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said all the right things:
Gary was injured one-third of the season. I asked our analytics guys, and the numbers from Hit F/x and things like that, the batting average was worse than how he really performed. He is going to be fine. When he is right, he is one of our best hitters, maybe our best hitter. Hal Steinbrenner on Gary Sanchez
Steinbrenner didn’t even mention the league leading number of passed balls that went by Sanchez’ glove this season (18). A fandom that had hailed his spectacular arrival in the Bronx with such acclaim in 2016, now has expressed frustration and disappointment with the Yankee backstop. In 89 games in 2018, he hit .186/.291/.406 with 18 home runs. It was painful to watch. Sanchez even received criticism mid-season for not hustling, until it was discovered that he was still harboring a hamstring injury he’d been on the disabled list for about a month previously.
Yankees Manager Aaron Boone still supports Sanchez
There’s an underlying confidence with him because he knows what a special hitter he can be. He’s confident because of the work he’s put in behind the scenes defensively that allow him to be the kind of defender we think he can be. But because he hasn’t gotten great results, that can get you.Aaron Boone on Gary Sanchez September 28, 2018
Boone believes Sanchez is putting in the work to overcome his struggles on both sides of the ball, and basically says that’s baseball—sometimes the results don’t come when you want them to.
Yet, on November 29, 2018 Jon Heyman of reported that the Yankees had shown interest in Miami Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto.
Realmuto, Heyman says, is generally thought to be the best catcher in Major League Baseball. Realmuto produced above-average offensive numbers for a catcher in 2018, hitting .277/.340/.484 with a career-high 21 home runs and 74 . On defense, he ranks eighth in MLB in fielding percentage with .992 and eight passed balls on the season.
Reamuto is what Yankee fans hoped Sanchez would be by this point in his career, especially after the solid year Sanchez had in 2017. Do the Yankees’ talks with the Marlins about Realmuto come down to uncertainty over the future of Sanchez? Certainly, the Gary Sanchez of 2018 is not the catcher the Yankees want behind the plate for a championship run in 2019, but just as certainly, is the question as to which Sanchez will show up in spring training?
Can the Yankees count on Sanchez after his 2018 performance? The fact that they held talks on Realmuto says they are unsure. While it may be just due diligence on the Yankees part to check in on every significant player being made available, it may also be that their trust in Sanchez has taken a beating.
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