Yankees: 3 Gary Sanchez trades NYY should pursue after benching

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 15: Gary Sanchez #24 of the New York Yankees reacts after striking out during the second inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on September 15, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 15: Gary Sanchez #24 of the New York Yankees reacts after striking out during the second inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Yankee Stadium on September 15, 2020 in the Bronx borough of New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
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BUFFALO, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 08: Gary Sanchez #24 of the New York Yankees drops a flyball hit by Cavan Biggio #8 of the Toronto Blue Jays during the fifth inning at Sahlen Field on September 08, 2020 in Buffalo, New York. The Blue Jays are the home team and are playing their home games in Buffalo due to the Canadian government’s policy on coronavirus (COVID-19). (Photo by Bryan M. Bennett/Getty Images) /

1. Gary Sanchez to the Rockies

Send Sanchez to the dysfunctional franchise with the fill-in GM? Send Sanchez to the city where pop flies catapult out of the ballpark at a higher rate than normal? Send Sanchez to the team currently platooning Elias Diaz and 25-year-old Dom Nuñez at catcher?

Yeah, we could see it.

Remember, at this low point of his career, adding Sanchez isn’t automatically antithetical to tanking. This is what the league’s bottom-feeders should be doing: taking chances on fading talents that could fill positions of need, becoming flippable again, or continue struggling until the team’s losses escalate to the desired point.

We do not know what Gary Sanchez can be. We’re not even sure if he can mash anymore, if the fastball stays mystifying to him. There’s no better place to try, though, than in Colorado.

Perhaps this becomes the springboard of a bigger deal? Maybe the two sides get to talking, Gleyber Torres continues to struggle, and Trevor Story starts to be discussed? Does Colorado like Clint Frazier and Deivi Garcia, too?

Maybe it stays focused and Sanchez heads west for some controllable bullpen depth (Justus Sheffield’s brother Jordan, a Rule 5 selection and former Dodgers first-rounder?). Maybe all the Yankees get in return is 21-year-old power lefty Sam Weatherly, a 2020 third-rounder out of Clemson who’s ranked 17th on Colorado’s top 30? Or speedy outfielder Jameson Hannah, ranked 13th but with a fringy arm and questionable power bat?

Unlike the other Sanchez deals, any conversation with the Rockies could get very overwhelming very quickly.