Mets calling up Gary Sanchez in latest catching twist
The Mets are about to find out if Gary Sanchez has anything left.
The former Yankee is getting called up from Triple-A Syracuse, a source confirmed, and the catcher is expected to be active for Friday’s game against Cleveland.
Sanchez could have opted out of his minor league deal with the Mets on Friday if he wasn’t in the majors and now he’ll get another chance in New York — just on the other side of town.
Sanchez signed with the Mets on May 9 after requesting his release from his minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants.
He last played in the majors in 2022 with the Twins, where he struggled after being traded by the Yankees during spring training.
The 30-year-old got off to a fast start with Syracuse, going 6-for-13 with a homer, six walks and five strikeouts in his first four games, but is 1-for-9 with four strikeouts in his past three games.
It comes after he struggled with San Francisco’s Triple-A Sacramento affiliate, where he had a .501 OPS in 16 games.
Buck Showalter said Thursday the Mets had several staff members with Syracuse watching Sanchez. The team has had plenty of issues at catcher this season, with Omar Navaerz out since early April with a strained calf and, more recently, Tomas Nido on the IL with dry eye syndrome.
Rookie Francisco Alvarez has shown flashes on both sides of the plate, but the Mets don’t want to overuse him and have had Michael Perez as the backup since Nido went down.
Showalter said he didn’t mind playing Alvarez a lot, but warned against using him too much so that he’s less effective.
“It’s a constant juggling act,’’ Showalter said. “He’s already caught more than some people thought he might have.”
Sanchez will be the latest addition to the mix, as he looks to regain some of the form that made him a huge prospect for the Yankees after signing out of the Dominican Republic in 2009 for $3 million.
He exploded onto the scene in 2016 with 20 homers in 53 games and followed up with 33 home runs the following year in his first full season in the majors.
Sanchez also had 34 homers in 2019, but had brutal seasons in 2018 and 2020 and the Yankees finally traded him to the Twins in March 2022, along with Gio Urshela, in exchange for Josh Donaldson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ben Rortvedt.
After another disappointing season, Minnesota didn’t offer Sanchez a contract last offseason and he went unsigned until the Giants picked him up in April.
