The Pittsburgh Pirates reportedly are among the teams interested in veteran catcher Gary Sanchez, according to Robert Murray of Fansided.
Gary Sanchez spent time with the San Francisco Giants, New York Mets and San Diego Padres organizations last season. He did not play in the majors with the Giants before he was released. He then played three games with the Mets before they let him go. Then, he joined the Padres, and became the personal catcher for Blake Snell, who won the Cy Young Award in the National League.
Blake Snell specifically credited Sanchez for what he did to help him win the Cy Young last year. Sanchez also was productive offensively, with a 116 OPS+ in 72 games with San Diego, according to Baseball Reference.
The Pirates could likely sign Sanchez for a cheap deal at this point in the offseason, and he could provide serviceable play for a team that is trying to emerge as a playoff contender in the near future. If the Pirates are in contention, Sanchez could help them in that regard. If not, the Pirates could deal him at the deadline if he is having a productive year.
There are other teams interested, but it seems that the Pirates are one of the main teams in the picture for Sanchez. It will be interesting to see where Sanchez lands. He provided some value to the Padres last year, but it appears that he will likely be playing elsewhere going into 2024, and might even have to earn his job in spring.
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