The Milwaukee Brewers have been one of MLB’s most active teams this offseason, but it generally has been Milwaukee losing players or personnel, such as when they traded starting pitcher Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles last week or when manager Craig Counsell left for the Chicago Cubs in November.
Wednesday, however, Milwaukee was on the other side of a transaction, signing two-time All-Star catcher Gary Sánchez.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post had the news first.
Gary Sanchez with Brewers: $7M. 1 year plus option.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 7, 2024
The Brewers will be paying Sánchez $7 million for the one-year deal with a mutual option for a second year.
The 31-year-old catcher has had an interesting career. Originally brought up through the New York Yankees farm system and made his MLB debut with the team in August 2016, where his career started with a bang. Sánchez became the first player in MLB history to hit 11 home runs and record 31 hits in his first 23 career games. Sánchez would go on to finish the year with 20 home runs but finished second in AL Rookie of the Year voting to Detroit Tigers pitcher Michael Fulmer.
Sánchez continued his strong play in 2017 when he was named to his first career All-Star team. He finished the year with a .278 batting average and 33 home runs, becoming the third Yankee catcher to ever win a Silver Slugger.
The ensuing years in New York were a struggle for Sánchez, as he still had a strong power bat but started striking out much more and became a liability behind the plate, leading the league in passed balls or errors in both 2019 and 2020.
In March 2022, the Yankees traded Sánchez to the Minnesota Twins where he spent one season before heading back to New York, this time with the Mets. His Mets career was short-lived, as Sánchez was designated for assignment in May. While his career seemed like it may be over, he was signed by the San Diego Padres where he was able to revitalize things, hitting .218 with 19 home runs.
