The New York Yankees could consider adding catching help this offseason.
If they want, they could look toward one of their former backstops, who officially became a free agent on Monday night.
That catcher: Gary Sanchez.
A decision on Monday makes Sanchez available to sign with any team in MLB, and if the Yankees wanted to consider a reunion, they could.
$8.5 Million Gary Sanchez Decision
Sanchez was just a member of the World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers. He was their backup catcher behind William Contreras.
The Brewers had a built-in mutual option to Sanchez’s contract that would pay him $8.5 million for the 2027 season.
A mutual option needs both sides to accept it to go into effect. Both sides also have the potential to decline it, and if just one side declines, the player becomes a free agent.
In this case, it was announced Monday night that the Brewers declined the Sanchez mutual option. No matter what Sanchez wanted to do, that decision makes him a free agent.
The Brewers made that move in conjunction with exercising the option they had for Contreras, who will remain in Milwaukee after winning World Series MVP.
Yankees Fit for Gary Sanchez
The Yankees spent most of the 2026 season looking for a righty-hitting catcher.
Austin Wells was struggling, but pretty much all of New York’s other catching options also hit from the left side, like Wells.
They were floated in trade deadline talks for the likes of Hunter Goodman, Ryan Jeffers and Tyler Stephenson, but none of those moves came to fruition.
Just on the theme of that need, Sanchez could fit the Yankees for the season ahead.
He still packs some power, and he did catch for the Brewers, although he’s not a plus defender. Sanchez might be better suited as a DH, and the Yankees certainly don’t need that.
There’ll be a team out there that has Sanchez on its roster in 2027. It may not be the Yankees, but it wouldn’t be the craziest outcome if Sanchez did end up back in the Bronx.
Ex-Yankees Catcher Available as Free Agent After $8.5 Million Decision