Brewers-Guardians trade just gave Yankees a hilarious new solution to catcher problem

Due to a number of factors outside their control, the New York Yankees' trade deadline search for a right-handed catcher has gone from, "Shoot for the stars with Shea Langeliers!" to "Ryan Jeffers would be an excellent secondary option" to "Oh, God, who's still available? Austin Wells' defensive metrics are actually a net positive!"

After Saturday morning's movement, though, a new avenue has opened up to them if they're seeking right-handed thump and don't mind giving a contender a valuable big-league piece in return: Gary Sánchez of the Milwaukee Brewers.

If you haven't been tracking El Gary since the wound scabbed over, he's been the Brewers' backup this season as they've raced to the second-best record in the NL, hitting .214 with eight bombs and a 118 OPS+. Since nobody hits as a catcher these days, even league-average offense stands out. When you exceed league-average by that much, it means you're mid-heater and worth paying attention to, no matter the baggage, if available.

And ... according to the Brewers beat, the Crew's latest trade with the Guardians that brought Bo Naylor aboard means they have a gleaming, screaming desire to move their current backup backstop for "MLB-ready help". It's now up to the Yankees to figure out what that means (as long as Adley Rutschman, Carson Kelly, and Tyler Stephenson all fall through).

What could Yankees entice Brewers with in trade talks for Gary Sánchez?

What do you think, fans? Better backup backstop than Christian "Two Homers in Triple-A Debut" Bethancourt?

"MLB-ready help" is an awkward phrase to parse, considering how stacked the Brewers are in nearly every department, and how unlikely the Yankees would be to deal them Will Warren/Ryan Weathers unless the deal was significantly expanded and one of their slugging prospects - Andrew Fischer? - ended up on the table.

The cleanest fit we see here is for a swingman like Brendan Beck or perhaps a bench thumper like Amed Rosario, who could fill the role that Andruw Monasterio did last year (and is currently filling in Boston). Rosario doesn't have Monasterio's defensive versatility, though neither of them is a particularly adept glovesman. There could be someone at the cusp of the bigs who the Brewers love - Kyle Carr? - and who we're not thinking about whatsoever. That may be the most likely possibility for a match.

Still, if the Yankees strike out in their higher-profile catching search, don't be shocked if they try to import Sánchez and right something that portions of the fanbase have perceived as a wrong ever since the team called in that ill-fated Twins trade four years ago.

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