Gary Sánchez

New York Yankees: Gary Sanchez Is Focused on Improving

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

foxsports

Gary Sanchez had an amazing rookie season for the New York Yankees, but that isn’t stopping him from trying to become even better.

New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez had a huge impact on the team when he was called up this season. After the Yankees made a tough decision to become sellers at the trade deadline, they began to call up some of their top prospects. One of the first to receive the call was Sanchez.

Upon his arrival, Sanchez went on to start his career in historic fashion. In his rookie season, Sanchez totaled a .299 batting average, 20 home runs, and 42 RBIs. When the Yankees were supposed to start losing after the trades, Sanchez was able to carry their lineup for much of the second half of the season.

Despite having an amazing two months for the Yankees, Sanchez is well aware that it was only two months. Next season, teams are going to be very careful when it comes to pitching to Sanchez, and that means he has to be prepared. So, this offseason, Sanchez is going to be focused on getting in the best shape possible.

“He said going to work on every aspect of his game because the fact that he did well for two months doesn’t mean that he can just rest on his laurels,” said his agent, Francis Marquez to Brendan Kuty of NJ.com “He said he wants to physically get into camp in really good shape and be prepared to catch a full season, which he’s never caught a full season in the major leagues.”

The great audition in the second half of the season has resulted in the Yankees already committing to Sanchez as the starter next season.

“Gary Sanchez is our starting catcher next year,” general manager Brian Cashman said at his end-of-season press conference to Kuty. “That’s his position to lose. That doesn’t mean he can’t lose it. We saw Severino last year helping us get to the postseason. This year, he struggled. We’re very excited about Gary, who always projected to be (a strong hitter).”

As of now, the Yankees have three projected catchers on their roster. In addition to Sanchez, the Yankees also have Austin Romine and Brian McCann. Due to having three capable catchers, the Yankees might entertain the idea of trading either Romine of McCann this offseason. McCann was one of the players that the Yankees entertained moving during the summer, and we will likely hear his name mentioned this winter.

Finally, it was a great start to his career for Sanchez, but that has also raised the bar. While it is impossible to expect the same level of production from Sanchez next season, the Yankees are hoping that he will be a star for years to come.