The New York Yankees traded backup catcher John Ryan Murphy to the Minnesota Twins earlier this offseason and bolstered their outfield depth in acquiring Aaron Hicks. Did that move by general manager Brian Cashman open the door for prospect catcher Gary Sanchez?
Although Sanchez has played only 37 games above Double-A, the latest rumors find he might be Brian McCann's backup in 2016 and jump ahead of Austin Romine.
George A. King III of the New York Post says Sanchez "is the front-runner" to hold that post next year.
The 23-year-old just wrapped up a dominant performance in the Arizona Fall League. He batted .295/.357/.625 with 16 runs scored (third), seven home runs (first) and 21 RBI (first) in 22 games with the Surprise Saguaros. He also ranked fourth in the AFL with a .982 OPS.
Sanchez spent the 2015 season with Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and hit .274/.330/.485 with 50 runs scored, 18 home runs and 62 RBI in 93 games. He actually experienced a spike in his offensive numbers after he was promoted to Scranton, which allowed him to make his MLB debut with the Yankees in October during a series with the Baltimore Orioles. However, he only registered two at-bats in two games.
That apparently isn't a factor right now in the eyes of Cashman.
"He improved in every category," the GM told King. "The bat was always there, now his defense has come a long way, blocking balls, calling a game and throwing. He always had a 70 [on the 20-80 scouting scale] arm. He has grown up before our eyes."
Cashman said Sanchez and Romine will compete for the backup job, but it certainly might be Sanchez's job to lose. The 23-year-old has registered much better minor-league campaigns in 2014 and 2015 than Romine, who has 77 MLB games under his belt.
Earlier this month Cashman alluded to the possibility of Sanchez becoming the Yankees' backup likely due to the youngster's success in the Arizona Fall League, which was perhaps the icing on the cake in terms of his expedited all-around development these past two seasons.
"He's going to make a significant run at it," Cashman said a couple of weeks ago. "I'm not promising him the position, but he's clearly continued his domination of development, which has pushed him into the mix, and made me comfortable enough to trade from that area of depth."
Sanchez, who was also named MVP of the AFL All-Star Game, is in a good position to capitalize and put himself under McCann's wing for the 2016 season.
