The New York Yankees have gotten off to an excellent start to the 2022 MLB season, as they became the first team to 20 wins on Monday after their win over the Texas Rangers. While this past offseason may not have featured as much player movement as Yankees fans would have liked, change was still present when New York entered camp for spring training.
General manager Brian Cashman added a new starting shortstop in Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, a new third baseman in Josh Donaldson, and in a huge development, moved on from catcher Gary Sanchez, who had drawn the ire of both the organization and the fans for his lackluster defense behind the plate and maddeningly streaky production at the dish. Instead, the Yankees opted for a defense-first approach at the catcher spot, entering the 2022 MLB season with the likes of Kyle Higashioka and Jose Trevino as their backstop options.
Many criticized the Yankees for sacrificing offense at the position- and there's no doubt that they have. However, the Yankees as a team haven't missed Sanchez one bit after his trade to the Twins. Here's why.
3 Reasons Yankees Don't Miss Gary Sanchez In 2022 MLB Season
3. Sanchez is struggling mightily at the plate so far
Baseball is a long season. There's plenty of time for those who have gotten off to an icy cold start at the dish to heat up. That means that it's definitely too early to write off Gary Sanchez, who is currently sporting a .211 batting average, a .625 OPS and just one home run in 77 plate appearances. However, the Yankee have seen this movie before.
Sanchez is a streaky hitter. Just look at his yearly OPS marks- .876, .697, .841, .618, .730. New York never knew which offensive version of Sanchez they were going to get in a given year- and in the early parts of the 2022 MLB season, the Twins have certainly gotten the bad version. Sanchez' highs can carry a team for stretches, but his lows can completely crater a club's offense.
There was a time when the Yankees believed that Sanchez- and not Aaron Judge or Gleyber Torres- was the best pure hitter in their minor league system. It's safe to say that the career .230 hitter in the Bronx never lived up to that hype.
Yes, the Yankees no longer have Sanchez' high-upside bat in their lineup. However, New York's offense seems to be doing just fine without his presence so far.
2. The Yankees lineup hasn't missed Sanchez
Through about a month of the 2022 MLB season, the Yankees rank in the top-10 in team batting average, on-base percentage, on-base percentage plus slugging, home runs and runs scored. New York sports one of the league's most potent lineups- and they're doing it without Sanchez.
The Yankees' catchers haven't been very productive on the offensive end, though it's becoming clear that New York can afford to have lesser production at the position, which is more or less what the Yankees front office was alluding to all offseason. When Judge, Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton, Torres, Aaron Hicks, DJ LeMahieu and Kiner-Falefa are all swinging the bat well, there's an argument to be made that it's the best lineup in all of baseball.
While Sanchez could very well go on a hot streak at some point, it's unlikely that the Yankees will miss out on that production, given how imposing their batting order is thus far. In fact, it's more likely that they'll continue to be just fine with their defense-first strategy at catcher.
1. Jose Trevino is a defensive wizard behind the plate
One of the most common gripes about Sanchez' game was his defense, as he frequently was among the MLB leaders in passed balls while posting below average numbers as a pitch framer. Ironically, the Twins catcher's defense has actually been solid so far.
However, the Yankees never would have known, as they have been benefitting from one of the very best defensive backstops in the game this season: Jose Trevino. Trevino ranks in the 100th percentile in Statcast's framing statistic and leads the MLB in Strike Rate. He also has yet to allow a passed ball.
Fellow catcher Kyle Higashioka, normally a strong defender, hasn't been nearly as good a defender as Trevino, though he's been respectable in his own right.
The results have shown in the Yankees' pitching, as the staff leads baseball in WAR while posting the second-lowest ERA. Trevino doesn't deserve all the credit, though his excellent defense and presence behind the plate is certainly a contributing factor. One can bet that the Yankees pitchers- who would never say so- certainly feel the same.
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