In August 2016, the Yankees traded away a handful of stars such as Andrew Miller, Carlos Beltran and Aroldis Chapman — and released Alex Rodriguez — and shifted their focus to the future.
Suddenly, Gary Sanchez was front and center in The Bronx, taking over the catching duties from Brian McCann. He quickly found himself in the record books, as Sanchez tied Wally Berger’s MLB record for reaching 20 homers in his first 50 games.
No one expected that torrid pace to continue, but it was also hard to imagine how soon Sanchez would be on the downside of his career.
It’s a career that could be on its last legs after Sanchez was called up to the Mets on Friday night, with his new team dealing with injuries to catchers Omar Navaerz and Tomas Nido and trying to avoid running rookie Francisco Alvarez into the ground.
As Buck Showalter noted Friday: “[Sanchez] is getting a chance to play in the big leagues again when it looked like there was a chance that might not happen again. I think he understands what that opportunity is, and it’s one he needs to take advantage of.’’
Here’s a look at Sanchez’s career trajectory.
2009: He was signed by the Yankees in July as a 16-year-old out of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic for a whopping $3 million.
Gordon Blakeley, then a scout with the Yankees, worked with the front office with Donny Rowland and Mark Newman at the time to bring Sanchez to The Bronx.
“We weren’t afraid of giving him the money because we thought he could be an everyday catcher and an All-Star,’’ Blakeley, who now works for New Balance, said Saturday.
2015: Sanchez rose steadily through the minors, and his major league career began with a pinch-hit appearance in Baltimore on Oct. 3, 2015, following the end of the Triple-A season.
2016: He was called up to be the Yankees’ full-time catcher the following August and immediately made an impact, winning American League Player of the Month in his first full month as a major leaguer and finishing second in the voting for AL Rookie of the Year to Detroit’s Michael Fulmer, a former Mets prospect.
He also threw out 43 percent of attempted base-stealers, which would prove to be a career high.
2017: Missed time with an elbow injury, but still made his first All-Star team, knocked Giancarlo Stanton — then with the Marlins — out of the Home Run Derby and finished the year with 33 homers.
2018: Questions regarding Sanchez’s effort came to the forefront, especially on defense, as he led the majors in passed balls for a second straight season and his production plummeted at the plate, hitting .186. Sanchez was limited to 89 games.
2019: In a bounce-back season, Sanchez hit 34 home runs and made another All-Star team and cut down on passed balls.
2020: The beginning of the end for Sanchez in The Bronx, he was benched by Aaron Boone in favor of Kyle Higashioka.
2021: In his final season with the Yankees, Sanchez struggled again and lost his job twice.
The following spring training, Sanchez was traded to the Twins — along with Gio Urshela — in exchange for Josh Donaldson, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Ben Rortvedt.
2022: In his only season with Minnesota, Sanchez served as the primary starter but had his third consecutive subpar season at the plate and was not offered a contract following the season.
2023: After not receiving a major league deal, Sanchez signed a minor league contract with the Giants and slumped with Triple-A Sacramento before requesting his release and ending up with the Mets.
“I think he can still hit,’’ said David Robertson, who played with Sanchez with the Yankees in 2017 and ’18. “And I know he can still throw. I know he got a bad rep as a catcher, but he’s caught a lot of hard guys to catch and I’m excited to see what he does for us.”
