The New York Yankees have not been able to find a player who offers them a true balance between offensive and defensive to occupy the reception, so leader Aaron Boone is in a predicament when choosing his catcher for the immediate future
An old adage points out that no one knows what he has until he loses it. For years, New York Yankees had one of the most reliable and secure receivers of the major leagues, Jorge Posada. The last season of the boricua was in 2011 and since then, the team has not been able to have behind the plate a figure that represents security in all aspects, from defensive, to offensive, so consistent.
In 2015 he arrived at the MLB the Dominican Gary Sanchez, Which many immediately saw as the successor to the Puerto Rican. The impact of the receiver was practically automatic, being second in the voting of New Year’s Eve in 2016 (season in which he was eligible for the award); they all believed that the Yankees they had their catcher of the future.
2017 further strengthened the belief that the player would be the one who for the next few years would be indisputably in charge of the reception, but year after year, the Dominican defense was deteriorating and in the same way, the injuries were presented . Additionally, the offensive of Sanchez began to decline, a trend that continued until the cut season of 2020, the worst year for the receiver in the major leagues.
Sanchez has a batting average of 265, accompanied by a catch percentage (OBP) of 471 and a slugging percentage (SLG) of 502, good for an OPS of 823. However, he has only been able to play one hundred games in two seasons (2017 and 2019) due to the accumulation of injuries.
In 2020, Sanchez was sent to the bank by two other receivers, Kyle Higashioka i Erik Kratz, Being both, better defensive alternatives than the Dominican. even, Higashioka became the personal receiver for Gerrit Cole, Given the poor results of the ace of rotation when Sanchez it was on the plate. Unfortunately, this receiver has a lifetime batting average of 196, along with an OPS of 649.
This led to friction between the management of the team and the player, who in an interview for ESPN he said he did not know the reasons that led the team to place him on the bench, which received a strong response from Brian Cashman, in which he indicated that he should not be surprised that the low performance of ‘a player takes the team to place it on the bench.
By 2021, the Yankees only have Sanchez and Higashioka listed as receivers, for now. One involves offensive power, the other defense, but neither is a catcher who can give stability on both sides of the ball.
If the trend continues, it’s a lot of trouble for the receiver to cost the Yankees games and at worst, it could cost them division or even qualifying in the postseason (for the first time since 2008).