Former MLB star Gary Sanchez, who had some really good years with the New York Yankees from 2016 to 2019, had been with the San Francisco Giants since early April.
He never made his debut in a Giants uniform, though: he signed a minor league deal.
Unable to make the team with San Francisco, team and player parted ways on Tuesday.
The Giants have released Gary Sanchez, the team announced. pic.twitter.com/JDmD3fRlyl
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 2, 2023
Sanchez was going to make $4 million this season if added to the Giants’ major league roster.
The deal included an opt-out clause on May 1 if the player was not in the big leagues by then.
Despite the name value attached to him, his stint in Triple-A was rough, to say the least.
In 16 games and 69 plate appearances, the slugger couldn’t hit any homers and slashed a poor .164/.319/.182.
He batted .205/.282/.377 with 16 home runs and two stolen bases across 471 plate appearances in 128 games last year with the Minnesota Twins.
Prior to that, he had been on a two-year slide with the Yankees that compromised his future as a major leaguer.
It’s unclear what’s the next step in Sanchez’s career, but there could be MLB teams willing to give him a chance on a minor league deal since there is no downside to that.
A defensive liability with eroding contact skills, Sanchez is nowhere near the level he showed four years ago.
Still 30 years old, his struggles are probably not a matter of physical decline but instead an inability to deal with breaking balls.
Let’s see what the future holds for the former All-Star catcher.
