3 Yankees trades that can actually replace Gary Sánchez

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Willson Contreras #40 of the Chicago Cubs (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

Replacing Gary Sánchez is a riskier proposition than most Yankees fans want to admit.

After all, at Sánchez’s very best offensively, there aren’t five catchers in the game more impactful … or four … or three …

Unfortunately, Sánchez’s very best may be far behind us. A cavalcade of catching coaches didn’t help matters, further throwing off his trajectory and distracting him from what he does best: mash, specifically into the left-field bleachers.

At an escalating cost of ~$8 million in his final year of arbitration, though, Sánchez’s polarizing talent may finally be outweighed by the dollar figures attached to him. New York needs to spend and spend thoroughly this offseason. Are they sure they want to spend such a hefty chunk on a catcher who’s provided so many jaw-dropping and symbolic moments of failure in recent years?

Alright. Fine. For the purposes of this exercise, we’re going to bite the bullet and untether Sánchez from the Yankees’ payroll. So how do they replace him?

Certainly not in free agency. The market was already weak before Mike Zunino went back to the Rays, Tucker Barnhart dipped to Detroit the second the feeding frenzy began, and Manny Piña joined the defending World Champions in Atlanta. If the Yankees are going to even pretend to upgrade their catching spot, they’ll have to do it through trade.

Luckily, there are a few options who could be had, some of whom even represent an improvement on Sánchez’s baseline (probably).

These trades could give the Yankees a fresh face behind home plate at the very least, and will provide an upgrade if everything clicks.

These 3 trades can help the Yankees replace Gary Sánchez.

3. Yankees-Willson Contreras Trade

Willson Contreras and Sánchez luckily fall on the same timeline. This isn’t a multi-year commitment to a power-hitting catcher, complete with breakdown fears. This is ditching the final year of control on Sánchez while surrendering assets for the final season of Contreras, who shouldn’t waste his pop and leadership on the moribund Cubs.

Though it’s tempting to label Contreras a “bat-first” catcher, similar to Sánchez, his 4.1 WAR in 2021 proves he can still hack it and provide value on both sides of the ball. His OPS+ of 108 topped Sánchez, as did his maximum exit velocity. Frustratingly, though, Contreras’ K percentage and barrel percentage both ranked below the Yankees’ incumbent in 2021, though not by all that much. Does the defensive upgrade outweigh a slight drop in “expected” stats that never came to fruition, especially because Contreras can boast better production? We think so, though you’re risking an offensive backslide.

To help fill a second need after the departure of Clint Frazier became official, how about adding “Trade Projections Favorite” Ian Happ to this deal? The 27-year-old bashed 25 homers and posted 1.6 WAR (102 OPS+) in a strange season in the CHI. He’s already got a Jomboy Media podcast hosting gig under his belt. Why wouldn’t he want to come to the Bronx?

Luis Gil, Hayden Wesneski, and Oswaldo Cabrera for both players, or just Wesneski and Cabrera for Contreras, paired with a Sánchez non-tender, clearing two 40-man spots for the price of one. Take it or leave it for the one-year audition.

Mitch Garver #8 of the Minnesota Twins (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images) /

2. Yankees-Mitch Garver Trade

Mitch Garver would be this offseason’s prize pig, and he’ll only be available if the Twins decide to prioritize their younger Garver knockoff, Ryan Jeffers, entering 2021.

Garver is controlled through 2023, and is coming off yet another impressive season you likely didn’t notice thanks to Minnesota entering the doldrums sometime around mid-April. In 243 plate appearances, the 31-year-old Garver mashed 13 homers and posted an otherworldly 139 OPS+. That’s the type of consistent difference-maker Sánchez was foretold to be.

During those limited snaps, Garver still put up 2.1 WAR, out-WARRING Sánchez by … 1.4. Oof.

Brian Cashman will only be able to have the Garver conversation if he promises to overpay a bit, considering Minnesota sliced backup-to-the-backup Willians Astudillo off the roster last week, and will be filling the No. 2 catcher role with the unproven Ben Rortvedt if they hand the keys to Jeffers. Do they believe in yet another kid? What if the proposal comes with either Gil or Oswald Peraza attached?

If Cashman drops one of those two names and adds lefty Ken Waldichuk or another top-15 prospect, that might be enough to get it done. Otherwise, maybe it’s Wesneski, Waldichuk, and a top-20 offensive prospect to close the deal. It all depends on what price the team ultimately pays or ducks out at in the Matt Olson chase.

Olson should be Trade Priority No. 1 this offseason, but you can make the case that the powerful Garver should be second in line. They just don’t make catchers like this anymore, as we saw during Sánchez’s four-year regression.

Jacob Stallings #58 of the Pittsburgh Pirates (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) /

1. Yankees-Jacob Stallings Trade

Here’s another instance of the Yankees contacting a familiar trade partner, trying to pry their catcher out of a dead-in-the-water situation, and potentially adding another pitcher to the pot.

Perhaps the Yanks can grab 31-year-old defensive specialist Jacob Stallings — with the downgraded bat to almost match — in addition to another one of Jameson Taillon and Gerrit Cole’s old buddies?

Stallings is locked in place through 2024 (!) and is Arb 2 this year, projected to make $2.6 million. That clocks in well below Sánchez territory. Though you might be more familiar with his 2021 Gold Glove, he nearly out-OPS’d El Gary in 2021, too, which is somewhat embarrassing (.730 to .704). He also hit one of the swaggiest home runs of the millennium to knock off the Mets after an epic comeback at PNC Park, if that counts for anything (it doesn’t, but it’s interesting).

While we love the defense and the competent bat, the Yankees can’t overpay for Stallings, who isn’t getting any more potent with the lumber as he ages at the most demanding position in the game. Two top-15 prospects will probably be the starting point, which sounds a bit intimidating. That’s where the pitching depth comes in; the Pirates still control breakout candidates Chad Kuhl (5-7, 4.82 ERA, 75 whiffs in 80.1 innings this season) and Steven Brault (just seven horrid starts in 2021, lasting only 27.2 innings with a 5.86 ERA).

Maybe, if the Yanks are feeling really wild, they’ll attempt to pair roving first baseman/potential bench piece Colin Moran to the deal? He’s a league-average, BJ Surhoff-style bat (in fact, he’s Surhoff’s nephew), and he’s a Port Chester, NY native who could be a homecoming candidate.

Just spitballing. Stallings is the likeliest of these three candidates to regress and the least likely to hit, but there might be some benefit in having a brick wall back there in the Bronx with a league-average bat.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 15: Anthony Rizzo #44 of the Chicago Cubs reacts after his RBI double in the fifth inning against the Cleveland Indians at Wrigley Field on September 15, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

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