In an attempt to find ways to boost their struggling offense, on Tuesday the New York Mets took a flier on a recently released former New York Yankees All-Star.
After playing well for much of April, the New York Mets finished the month and entered May in a major slump led by the disappointing play of their batting order. What was a strength for the team this time last year has become a weakness as many of their best hitters have taken a nosedive in production over the last few weeks.
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On Monday, it was reported that general manager Billy Eppler would soon have special assistant Carlos Beltran head to Syracuse to evaluate a pair of top prospects in Mark Vientos and Ronny Mauricio to see if promoting them could be a way to quickly improve the big league offense. Well, Beltran will have another unexpected player to evaluate when he makes his trip upstate New York.
On Tuesday, New York Post MLB insider Joel Sherman was the first to report that the New York Mets have signed New York Yankees veteran Gary Sanchez to a minor league contract. Sanchez was recently cut by the San Francisco Giants after a minor league deal signed in the offseason did not develop into him eventually being added to the major league roster this season.
New York Mets record (2023): 17-18
New York baseball fans are very familiar with Gary Sanchez. At one time, the 30-year-old was seen as one of the best prospects in the legendary franchise’s farm system and seemed destined for superstardom when he slugged 20 home runs and hit .299 in just 53 games during the 2016 season.
However, it wasn’t long before New York Yankees fans grew frustrated with his poor defensive skills that let them down in many key regular and postseason games. When his hitting started to decline also after a second All-Star appearance in 2019, the team had enough and let him walk in MLB free agency during the winter of 2021.
Last season he played in 128 games for the Minnesota Twins but barely hit over .200 and had 136 strikeouts to go with his 16 home runs.
- Gary Sanchez stats (2022): .205 AVG, .282 OBP, .377 SLG, 16 HR, 61 RBI
For the New York Mets, the right-handed hitter would likely be used as part of a platoon at DH and a backup catcher if he can get his hitting issues fixed in their minor league system.