Yankees: 3 players who could be non-tendered in offseason

1. Gary Sánchez

*Insert “And Here We Go” Joker GIF*

Yankees Twitter was just set ablaze. I’m sorry. For the second offseason in a row, we will have a civil war among fans about Gary Sánchez, who, at this point, should be among the least polarizing figures in the organization … simply because he’s (ducks) not very good!

Don’t trust us? Let’s look at some telling statistics from the last few years:

• 2018: 89 OPS+ and 4 Defensive Runs Saved
• 2019: 119 OPS+ and -2 Defensive Runs Saved
• 2020: 70 OPS+ and -4 Defensive Runs Saved
• 2021: 99 OPS+ and -10 Defensive Runs Saved

You can’t call that the “best offensive catcher in the game” or the “Yankees’ catcher of the future.” Those are average to below average numbers, even for an MLB backstop, and given he’s projected to make $7.9 million in his final year of arbitration eligibility, perhaps the Yankees will finally realize this output isn’t worth running back yet again.

Frankly, many were surprised when the team opted to tender him a $6.35 million deal in 2021. Maybe we’re missing something, but we’re not sure what the front office saw that would justify another raise that put him among the game’s top-10 highest-paid catchers. And if he can’t be behind the plate when our ace is pitching … then what’s the point, really? If Boone isn’t going to use him as a DH or pinch-hit him more frequently? Again, feels like a colossal waste of time, money and energy.

We will say this, though: there aren’t any viable options in free agency, so if the Yankees do cut bait with Sánchez, they better have a proper backup plan that doesn’t constitute another downgrade … because we’ve seen enough inadequate efforts behind the dish for quite a while now.

Yankees: 4 players who should be traded this offseason

The New York Yankees have a lot of work to do this offseason. And Brian Cashman should consider kicking things off by trading a few of these players.