Gary Sanchez will be promoted to Mets on Friday, source says
Gary Sanchez #24 of the Minnesota Twins looks on against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on Oct. 5, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. Credit: Getty Images
The Mets are opting in on Gary Sanchez.
The former Yankees catcher, who is batting .308 with one home run in 26 at-bats for the Mets’ Triple-A Syracuse affiliate, is being called up by the Mets and will join the team on Friday, a source confirmed.
Sanchez, 30, had an opt-out on the minor league contract he signed with the Mets on May 9. If he was not promoted to the majors by Friday, he could have asked for his release.
Sanchez recently opted out of a similar contract when he was with the Giants’ Triple-A club before he signed with the Mets.
Sanchez is long removed from his best days with the Yankees. Last season, after the Yankees traded him to Minnesota, Sanchez hit .205 with 16 home runs and a .659 OPS.
Sanchez is a two-time All-Star, the last time in 2019, when he hit .232 with a career-high 34 homers and an .841 OPS.
Never a strong defensive catcher, Sanchez’s offensive decline began in the shortened 2020 season, when he hit .147 in 49 games.
Rookie Francisco Alvarez, 21, is the Mets’ No. 1 catcher at the moment. He is batting .218 with four home runs and a .697 OPS. Alvarez hit a massive, tying, three-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning of the Mets’ 8-7, 10-inning victory over Tampa Bay on Wednesday.
Veteran Michael Perez has been Alvarez’s backup. Perez started the Mets’ 3-2 victory over the Rays on Thursday and went 0-for-3 after going 4-for-4 in his first start on Sunday in Washington. The Mets could make room on the 40-man roster by simply designating Perez for assignment.
The Opening Day catching tandem of Omar Narvaez (left calf strain) and Tomas Nido (dry eye syndrome) are both on the injured list and are supposed to start minor-league rehab assignments in the next week.
With David Lennon
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
