Free-agent catcher Gary Sánchez and the Brewers have agreed to a one-year, $7 million deal that includes an option for 2025, according to a report from MLB Network insider Jon Heyman. The team has not confirmed the agreement.
Milwaukee already boasts a star at catcher in reigning Silver Slugger winner William Contreras, so the addition of Sánchez would give them a powerful 1-2 punch behind the plate, with the potential for either to see time at DH.
Sánchez had a whirlwind start to his 2023 season – he was a late sign by the Giants in April and played 16 games at Triple-A Sacramento before being released on May 2, then signed with the Mets, playing three MLB games before being claimed off waivers by the Padres on May 29.
The veteran backstop finally found a home in San Diego, where he’d appear in 72 games, hitting .218 with 19 home runs, 46 RBIs and a 116 OPS+ (his highest since 2019). After struggling to limit his strikeouts in recent seasons, he posted a 25.1% strikeout rate in 2023; defensively, his average overall pop time of 1.90 seconds, ranking in the 86th percentile among Major Leaguers, was his fastest since 2016. Sánchez’s bounce-back season ultimately ended prematurely with a right wrist fracture sustained on a hit-by-pitch on Sept. 6.
Sánchez, who will be in his age-31 season in 2024, made his Major League debut with the Yankees in 2015 and placed second in AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2016 after hitting .299/.376/.657 (168 OPS+) with 20 home runs in 53 games. He would go on to be selected to two AL All-Star teams, earning a start in the 2019 Midsummer Classic.
After hitting .187 across a pair of down years in 2020-21, he was traded to the Twins in March 2022 along with third baseman Gio Urshela in exchange for Josh Donaldson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ben Rortvedt. Sánchez spent just one season in Minnesota, where he hit .205 and posted a .377 slugging percentage, a career low in a non-shortened season.
In parts of nine Major League seasons, Sánchez has a career OPS+ of 109, averaging 38 home runs and 98 RBIs per 162 games.
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