There was some catching news involving the Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday beyond coaching assistant/bullpen catcher Radley Haddad leaving Aaron Boone’s staff to become Pittsburgh’s major-league field coordinator,
Way bigger than that was the Yankees blowing a shot to finally upgrade at catcher at a reasonable cost a day before Tuesday’s 8 p.m. ET non-tender deadline, which probably will determine whether Gary Sanchez stays or goes.
Monday wasn’t just a day in which the Yankees watched Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and other potential free agent targets sign big-money deals elsewhere. All the while, GM Brian Cashman did nothing to stop the Pirates from trading starting catcher Jacob Stallings to the Miami Marlins for young pitcher Zach Thompson and two prospects who were high draft picks, 2018 first-round outfielder Connor Scott and 2020 second-round right-hander Kyle Nicolas.
The Yankees could have offered a more attractive package to the Pirates without giving up Anthony Volpe, Jasson Dominguez or their other favorite prospects.
Too bad. Stallings would have been a significant upgrade from Sanchez defensively for sure and at the plate, too. Stallings, who hit .246 with eight homers and 53 RBI in 112 games last season, also four seasons of team control.
The Yankees still could opt to non-tender Sanchez, but this probably won’t happen unless Cashman finds a new No. 1 catcher beforehand, and there isn’t much sand remaining in his hourglass to pull this off. Monday night’s non-tender deadline will lead into baseball’s first work stoppage since 1994-95 with owners dead set on following through with their threat of a lockout once its Collective Bargaining Agreement expires at midnight Wednesday. Considering all that, it might be Tuesday or bust for moving on from Sanchez this winter.
Others too.
The Yankees have non-tender decisions to make on 16 players who are eligible for salary arbitration.
Most are easy calls.
Here are 12 who will be tendered along with their projected 2022 salaries (via MLB Trade Rumors):
Outfielder Aaron Judge ($17.1 million), second baseman Gleyber Torres ($5.9M), third baseman Gio Urshela ($6.2M), catcher Kyle Higashioka ($1.2M), starting pitchers Jordan Montgomery ($4.8M), Jameson Taillon ($4.7M) and Domingo German ($2.1M), and relievers Chad Green ($4.1M), Wandy Peralta ($1.7M), Jonathan Loaisiga ($1.7M), Lucas Luetge ($1.1M) and Clay Homes ($1 million).
According to Cashman two weeks ago, outfielder Joey Gallo ($10.2) also will be tendered despite his .160 average in 58 games with the Yankees last season.
That leaves three non-tender candidates, each of them position players who once were main cogs in the Yankees’ lineup — Miguel Andujar ($1.7M), Luke Voit ($5.4M) and Sanchez ($7.9M).
Here are the plusses and minuses of non-tendering each:
GARY SANCHEZ, C
2021 salary: $6.35 million.
Projected 2021 salary: $7.9 million.
2021 stats: .204 average, 383 AB, 54 runs, 78 hits, 13 doubles, 1 triple, 23 HR, 54 RBI, 52 BB, 121 K, .730 OPS, 117 games.
The case for a non-tender: The Yankees ridded themselves of one black cloud by releasing Clint Frazier last week. Now they’re weighing the options of breaking free of a darker one in Sanchez, who has very little if any trade value due his salary plus several years of offensive and defensive struggles. Sanchez still hits a lot of home runs, but he’s nowhere near the offensive threat that he was early in his career and his catching is still very poor despite the Yankees’ claims that he improved last season. Sanchez is a year away from free agency so he’s become very expensive for what he brings.
The case for tendering contract: Who’s replacing Sanchez if he’s non-tendered? There’s nothing appealing on the free agent market catching wise and the price is very high for the only elite catcher who is being shopped, Chicago Cubs two-time All-Star Willson Contreras. Working a trade with the Cubs before the non-tender deadline would be ideal for the Yankees, but Cashman probably won’t overpay a lot for a quality receiver who is heading into his walk year. If the Yankees can’t get Contreras by Tuesday, Sanchez’s odds of being tendered a contract increase unless …
Prediction: Sanchez is non-tendered and the Yankees trade with Miami for Jorge Alfaro, who became available on Monday after the Marlins acquired Stallings. Alfaro isn’t in Contreras’ class, but he’d be a better option to pair with Higashioka in 2022. Alfaro had a lot of passed balls in 2021, but his framing, throwing and hitting was better than Sanchez’s.
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LUKE VOIT, 1B
2021 salary: $4.7 million.
Projected 2021 salary: $5.4 million.
2021 stats: .239 average, 213 AB, 26 runs, 51 hits, 7 doubles, 1 triple, 11 HR, 35 RBI, 21 BB, 74 K, .764 OPS, 68 games.
The case for a non-tender: Right or wrong, it’s believed the Yankees prefer to move on from Voit as their starting first baseman because of his salary and history of injuries. They’ve never been happy with his defense and loved it late last season when four-time Gold Glove winner Anthony Rizzo was there. Also, the Yankees still need to balance their lineup and look at first base as a spot where they can drop in a left-handed bat. Ideally, the Yankees would trade Voit, and while you’d think he’d have a lot of value as a 2020 MLB home run champ who has three years of team control, his salary, injuries and first-base play are scaring teams away. The Yankees don’t want a $5.4M first baseman on their bench, so a non-tender is a real consideration if they don’t make a trade.
The case for tendering contract: The Yankees would be foolish letting Voit go for nothing because $5.4M is a bargain for a starting first baseman with Voit’s power, and he’s their projected starter for 2022 until they find someone better. Signing free agent Freddie Freeman isn’t realistic, but re-signing Rizzo may be. More intriguing, trading for Matt Olson may be possible if the Yankees are willing to offer more to the Athletics than the many other interested suitors. Oakland is demanding a huge return, as well it should, but Olson is worth parting with at least three top 10 prospects not named Volpe or Dominguez.
Prediction: Voit is tendered a contract and remains a Yankee until Cashman trades for Olson or re-signs Rizzo.
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MIGUEL ANDUJAR, 3B/LF
2021 salary: $639,000.
Projected 2021 salary: $1.7 million.
2021 stats: .253 average, .154 AB, 19 runs, 39 hits, 2 doubles, 6 HR, 22 RBI, 7 BB, 28 K, .667 OPS, 45 games.
The case for a non-tender: Andujar has no future with the Yankees as a regular, he’s out of options next season and there’s not much trade value because he’s a below-average defensive player who has either been hurt, struggled or been the minors since he put up great offensive numbers as a rookie in 2017. Non-tendering Andujar would free up almost $2 million for Cashman to spend elsewhere this winter.
The case for tendering contract: The way Yankees players get hurt, Andujar is worth keeping around at least through spring training as an insurance policy for Giancarlo Stanton and Gallo. If Andujar has a good spring and the others stay heathy, the Yankees should have no trouble trading him for a middle reliever or decent prospect. And if they decide to DFA him because he’s not making the Opening Day roster, eating $1.7 million is doable, although it would be closer to $1 million if someone else picks him up because they’d be responsible for paying the major-league minimum.
Prediction: Andujar is tendered a contract and traded during spring training.
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Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com.
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