It’s been an interesting offseason for the Brewers, as Milwaukee locked up their future face of the franchise and sent their previous one to the Orioles. However, the Brewers still have a strong shot to be competitive in 2024. The Brewers added a big power bat in Rhys Hoskins earlier in the winter, and now Gary Sanchez is set to join him.
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A Look at Sanchez
As a whole, new Brewers catcher Gary Sanchez‘s .217 average between the Mets and Padres last season doesn’t look good on paper. However, the 2023 campaign was arguably Sanchez’s most productive since 2019.
Sanchez got a brief look with the Mets last spring but didn’t stick thanks to the logjam New York had behind the plate with Francisco Alvarez and Omar Narvaez. San Diego, who didn’t have an established offensive threat behind the plate in May 2023, claimed him off waivers.
The move turned out well for the Padres, as Sanchez belted 19 home runs and 27 extra-base hits over 72 games. His .275 ISO in 2023 was his best in the Majors since that aforementioned 2019 campaign, when he hit a career-high 34 home runs.
It’s well-known what Sanchez brings to the table at this point of his career. The 31-year-old has plenty of power and is a pull-heavy hitter but he also whiffs a hefty amount. Sanchez is a career .225 hitter with a below-average 49.3% Chase Contact%.
And in what was an abbreviated 2023 campaign, Sanchez — who sported a lower Chase% in 2023 than in 2022 — did hack at more outside breaking balls per plate appearance.
- 2023: 98 breaking balls chases:267 PA (36.7% BB Chase/PA)
- 2022: 159 breaking ball chases:471 PA (33.7% BB Chase/PA)
Defensively, Sanchez has not been known to be an average backstop behind the plate. However, Statcast did give him above-average marks for his framing and pop time last year.
Per the New York Post, Gary Sanchez is set to receive a one-year deal worth $7MM. It also reportedly comes with a mutual option for 2025.
Analysis
Now that the Padres have Kyle Higashioka and Luis Campusano for 2024 — as well as Ethan Salas down the pipe — it’s not a shock that Sanchez didn’t stick in San Diego. However, the fit in Milwaukee is interesting.
On paper, a power bat like Sanchez makes sense. The Brewers finished in the bottom half of the league last season in OPS and home runs in 2023, and Sanchez does have a potent power bat aside from his weaknesses. Sanchez is set to join former Phillies 1B Rhys Hoskins, who signed with Milwaukee a few weeks earlier.
However, the more interesting piece of this deal is how the Brewers will work Sanchez into the fold. Milwaukee now has three catchers — Sanchez, Eric Haase, and William Contreras — on staff and Contreras is the established hand.
Sanchez has very limited experience at first — three games to be exact — so DH would be an option. But, the Brewers have a lot of outfielders on their roster, including prospect Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, Sal Frelick, Joey Wiemer, and former NL MVP Christian Yelich.
Yelich would be a logical fit in the DH slot given the history with his back. But, a platoon system that would see Sanchez get time both behind the plate and in the DH slot would be a logical move.