Girardi: Sanchez will be Yankees' primary catcher
The New York Yankees' youth movement is in full flight.
After a two-home run performance against the Toronto Blue Jays Tuesday, Yankees skipper Joe Girardi confirmed a day later that Gary Sanchez will be the club's primary catcher, while Brian McCann slides into the designated hitter role.
“I think he's (Sanchez) really good at recognizing what pitchers are trying to do to him and making adjustments,” Girardi told reporters Tuesday. “He understands their repertoire; he sees pitches and gives you tough at-bats.”
Since getting the call on August 3, the 23-year-old Sanchez is red-hot, slashing .340/.367/.660 with four home runs, three doubles, and 10 RBIs in 12 games.
McCann, on the other hand, hasn't been able to find his groove this season. In 94 games he's batting .232/.333/.404 with 15 homers and 80 strikeouts in 94 games.
The veteran has cleared waivers and is still owed $34 million over the next two seasons. New York has reportedly had extensive talks with McCann's former team, the Atlanta Braves, about a trade for two young players - a non-starter for Atlanta - according to Jon Heyman of Today's Knuckleball.
Atlanta would ideally welcome back McCann as a veteran presence for their young roster.