When Aaron Boone paired Kyle Higashioka with Gerrit Cole in the first games of the AL wild-card round and the Division Series, the manager came back with Gary Sanchez the next night.
However, after Sanchez started Game 2 of the ALDS against the Rays on Tuesday night, when he went he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and had trouble defensively in a 7-5 loss, Boone started Higashioka with Masahiro Tanaka in a crucial Game 3 on Wednesday evening.
“It will be day-to-day,’’ Boone said prior to Game 3 when asked if Higashioka or Sanchez was his No. 1 catcher. “I think both guys are going to play a big role for us as we move forward.’’
Higashioka didn’t do much to separate himself, going 0-for-3 in an 8-4 Game 4 loss.
After a miserable regular season in which Sanchez hit an embarrassing .147 (23-for-156) with 10 homers, 24 RBIs, posted a .641 OPS and struck out a whopping 64 times, the Yankees had to hope the 27-year-old would rebound in the postseason. However, in two games he was 1-for-8 (.125) with a homer and three RBIs. Defensively, Sanchez was charged with a passed ball, dropped a pitch on a steal of second base and didn’t catch a pitch that was called a strike.
Asked if Sanchez’s defense was the reason Higashioka caught Tanaka, Boone talked up Higashioka’s skills behind the plate.
“Anytime you go with Kyle that is a huge plus,’’ Boone said of the 30-year-old who is a better defender than hitter and homered in Game 1 of the ALDS. “He is so good back there. But I feel, especially over the last month I feel Gary has done a good job back there so it is more Higgy earning more opportunities doing a good job on both sides of the ball and earned his way in there [Wednesday].’’
Higashioka has played in 72 big-league games and is a career .186 hitter. He started Game 3 with three hits in nine postseason at-bats this year.
Sanchez’s brutal regular season combined with not starting three of the first five postseason games brings up the question about his future with the club. His $5 million salary was prorated for the 60-game season and he has two more trips through arbitration.
He will likely be very difficult to trade this offseason, which leads to questions about being non-tendered in a climate where no team is exempt from the financial blood bath caused by COVID-19. Such a move would leave the Yankees looking for a No. 1 catcher because Higashioka isn’t that guy. J.T. Realmuto will be the best catcher on the free-agent market, but the Yankees paid Cole $324 million last year and need money to keep DJ LeMahieu and Tanaka from leaving via free agency.
The fact Boone would start Higashioka over Sanchez on Wednesday wasn’t a surprise. But it is proof how far Sanchez has fallen. He has always battled it defensively, but from 2017-19 Sanchez hit 85 homers, drove in 220 runs and posted a .815 OPS. Even his .238 average in those three seasons was a major upgrade from this year.
Tanaka worked with Sanchez for two regular-season starts and one with Higashioka against the Rays. Higashioka and Tanaka were paired on Sept. 1 at Yankee Stadium when the right-hander gave up two runs and three hits in six innings against the Rays and was the winner in a 5-3 victory that was more known for Aroldis Chapman unleashing a 101 mph fastball near the head of the Rays’ Mike Brosseau.
Boone said Tanaka’s strong outing with Higashioka didn’t play a part in his decision for Game 3, but the numbers point to it being a solid move. In seven games matched with Sanchez this season Tanaka posted a 4.26 ERA and hitters batted .281.