Pride cannot get in way of Yankees trying to trade Gary Sanchez

The Yankees need to trade Gary Sanchez and not fret about a low return.

If we want to talk about saving money and winning the offseason at the margins, look no further than finding a way to trade Gary Sanchez and his ~$6 million salary (we won’t know that figure for sure until the arbitration settlement/hearing determines it) and adding contact-hitting catcher to platoon with Kyle Higashioka.

Sanchez, as much as New York Yankees fans loved him when he debuted back in 2016, is a redundant offensive player in this lineup (all power, no contact, no situational instincts, and high strikeout percentage) and he’s still bad at defense. That’s sadly just the way it is. We don’t want that to be the case, but we need to live in reality.

He’s batting .200 since the start of 2018 and has led the league in passed balls three out of the last four years. He’s batting .224 with runners in scoring position, .196 with two outs and runners in scoring position, and .226 in high-leverage situations for his career. We’re not asking the guy to bat .400, but it’s clear he’s been unable to help the Yankees in areas they’ve struggled.

The fact of the matter is that Sanchez’s value is as low as it’s ever been, he’s not needed in this lineup, and he’s making ~$6 million in 2021 when the organization has made it clear they’re going to be need to be cost-effective in every possible manner to get the team the reinforcements it needs.

So many talking heads, journalists and media members are saying something along the lines of “it would be tough” for the Yankees to deal with moving Sanchez and not getting top dollar. Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News appeared on WFAN Radio on Thursday night and echoed that sentiment.

Well, the Yankees already reportedly tried to trade Sanchez in August even though his value was low. They’re not going to get anywhere close to what they want, and that’s just the way it is. He has two years left before free agency, so it’s not like you’re moving a super team-friendly controllable player.

If he performs better elsewhere, you have to bite the bullet. You simply cannot bank on the fact a player who has never really put it all together for one single season is all of a sudden going to do that the second you move him. What kind of thought process is that?

Trading Sanchez when his value is low should not be a deterrent for general manager Brian Cashman. This once-promising experiment has gone horribly wrong in so many facets that arguing in favor of the most unlikeliest of scenarios could only be characterized as delusion.

Move Sanchez, free up some money, maybe acquire another pitcher out of it, sign a cheaper catcher that plays stout defense and wields a contact bat, and move on. Pride cannot get in the way here. You have to be able to stomach potentially being on the losing side of this trade, but history shows that you probably won’t be.

Signing Yadier Molina could be answer to Yankees’ problems

The New York Yankees should really find a way to trade Gary Sanchez and sign former St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina this offseason.