There was a time when Gary Sanchez was only valuable because of his ability to hit home runs. When you hit at least 30 homers twice for the New York Yankees, your hype train will be out of control.
But Sanchez, who returned to the Milwaukee Brewers as a backup catcher on a one-year, $1.75 million contract, wasn’t very good with the glove. In his last two seasons with the Yankees, he had a run value of -5 in the 60-game 2020 season and -11 in 2021, per Statcast. The Fielding Bible had Sanchez with a -4 defensive runs saved in 2020, which ranked 94th among 101 catchers, and -10 in 2021, which was 114th out of 116.
He turned a corner when he went to the Minnesota Twins in 2022, where he had a +2 run value and a zero DRS. Splitting 2023 with the New York Mets, who cut him at the end of May, and the San Diego Padres, he had a +4 run value and +7 DRS. So maybe it was a Yankees problem?
In only 28 games at catcher with the Brewers in 2024, Sanchez was at zero run value and -1 DRS. But it was noticeable how Sanchez was no longer a liability behind the plate. His framing numbers were horrible with the Yankees, registering a -5 each of his last three seasons there (2019-2021), then were at zero, +3, and zero from 2022-24.
For some reason, Sanchez regressed in 2025 with the Baltimore Orioles. He had a -5 run value, -8 DRS, and -3 framing. Sanchez was limited to 29 games with the Orioles in 2025 due to a sprained right knee and inflammation in his right wrist after signing for $8.5 million. Sanchez made $3 million with the Crew in 2024.
But now the 33-year-old is back for a second tour of duty with the Brewers, who have a reputation for fixing and developing catchers. So that is perhaps what drew him to return, getting back to what made him an OK defender.
As the backup to William Contreras, Sanchez won’t be needed that much behind the plate. The Crew’s two backups in 2025, Eric Haase and Danny Jansen, had a combined 34 starts behind the plate.
Sanchez had a .231/.297/.418 slash line with the Orioles in 2025 in 101 plate appearances, with five homers and 24 RBIs. That came after a .220/.307/.392 showing with the Crew in 2024.
What the Brewers do need from Sanchez, a right-handed hitter, is his ability to hit the long ball. In 2024, he hit 11 homers in 280 plate appearances over 89 games. He had 27 starts at catcher, 40 starts as the designated hitter, and one at first base.
As a pinch-hitter with the Crew, Sanchez had a .294/.368/.471 slash line (5-for-17) with one homer and three RBIs. Never known for his batting average, Sanchez had similar splits against right-handed pitchers as he did against left-handers. Against righties, he has a career mark of .228/.309/.459, while posting a .214/.309/.468 line when facing lefties. He has homered in 5.5% of his plate appearances vs. righties and 6.1% vs. lefties.
How much time Sanchez gets at designated hitter will depend on how much regular DH Christian Yelich plays in left field, which, at the moment, doesn’t appear very often (19 games in 2024). Injuries can change that scenario, however.
So Sanchez will get about two dozen or so games starting in place of Contreras, who will DH on most days he isn’t catching. That will leave Sanchez to be a pinch-hitter, although manager Pat Murphy will need to be careful as to when to deploy him in case of an injury to Contreras. Sanchez would be the best power option off a bench that is likely looking like first baseman-left fielder Jake Bauers, outfielder Brandon Lockridge, and one of either Garrett Mitchell or Blake Perkins, whoever isn’t starting in center. Following the trade of Andruw Monasterio in the Caleb Durbin deal with the Boston Red Sox, there is one open bench spot for an infielder.