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Yankees: Swapping out Gary Sanchez for JT Realmuto is not the answer

ByThomas Carannante|
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 03: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Gary Sanchez #24 of the New York Yankees in action against the Philadelphia Phillies at Yankee Stadium on August 03, 2020 in New York City. The Yankees defeated the Phillies 6-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 03: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Gary Sanchez #24 of the New York Yankees in action against the Philadelphia Phillies at Yankee Stadium on August 03, 2020 in New York City. The Yankees defeated the Phillies 6-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

For some reason, Yankees fans want JT Realmuto. Why?

The New York Yankees have plenty of moves to make this offseason, with one of the most paramount being figuring out how to get rid of Gary Sanchez. He’s clearly a liability in this lineup both offensively and defensively, and the Yankees don’t need another player that belts home runs but can’t hit for average.

Kyle Higashioka provided a big boost for the Bombers on both sides of the ball down the stretch and in the postseason, but he can’t be the everyday starter. A platoon will probably make the most sense here.

What will NOT make sense, however, is breaking the bank for a guy like JT Realmuto. He’s simply not what the Yankees need, and there’s no sense in spending a prohibitive amount on a catcher when there are many other areas of the roster to address.

Yankees fans love the idea of just adding big names to the lineup, but we have enough of those. If this group of players isn’t intimidating enough, adding one more isn’t going to do the trick. And when you look at Realmuto and Sanchez side by side, there really isn’t that much of a difference on the offensive side of the ball.

  • Realmuto career: .278/.328/.455 with 380 runs scored, 95 home runs and 358 RBI
  • Sanchez career: .236/.320/.502 with 245 runs scored, 115 home runs, 286 RBI

The biggest difference here? Realmuto has played in 732 career games over seven seasons while Sanchez has appeared in 421 games over six seasons. One could argue Sanchez is better offensively with the exception of batting average. Realmuto barely edges him on OBP and is way behind in OPS.

No! They shouldn’t! He’s going to be 30 years old before 2021 begins and he only has a career 5.1 dWAR. If you want to improve the offense and defense behind the plate, Realmuto is hardly an upgrade in both departments, given what the Yankees currently have in Sanchez and Higashioka, both of whom would be cheaper (combined) than Realmuto.

Are we wholeheartedly against signing Realmuto? No way. We’ll take any and all good players on the New York Yankees. But if fans think this is a surefire upgrade that will solve the team’s problems immediately, this is hardly the answer, especially if the franchise is going to be frugal and use the global pandemic as an excuse to do so. Whatever money the Yankees are ready to spend needs to not be wasted on a new catcher.

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