Feeling the glove
Cashman praises Sanchez’s defense
Forget “Release the Kraken.” Now Gary Sanchez is “the game manager.’’
After Sanchez’s injury-plagued regular season was followed by a wildly unproductive postseason at the plate, general manager Brian Cashman praised the catcher’s defensive skills.
“I thought Gary Sanchez had a great season, obviously outside of the injuries,’’ the GM said at his season-ending press conference in The Bronx on Thursday. “You know, Gary is part of the solution.”
Cashman praised Sanchez’s handling of the pitching staff, as well as his ability to limit Houston’s basestealing in the ALCS.
“Listen, what we did against their offense in terms of compressing their offense was as much to do with our pitchers as Gary Sanchez, but Gary’s a big part of that,’’ Cashman said, noting how Sanchez called games from behind the plate and changed signs.
But what has set Sanchez apart in the past has been his bat, which disappeared for most of October.
“On the offensive side, you know, he didn’t swing the bat as much as he’s capable of,’’ Cashman said. “But he’s one of the biggest differencemakers at that position in the game. And so, Gary’s been a big plus for us and one of the reasons why we’ve been able to excel.”
After a season in which 30 players were sent to the IL for 39 stints, Cashman did not rule out changes being made to the medical staff this offseason.
“Stay tuned if there’s something there to be dealt with in the future,” Cashman said.
Cashman wouldn’t say whether changes had already been made.
“Our focus and concerns on how our processes played out this year and the numerous injuries that we had,” he said. “The failed rehabs that we had in some cases. … Our area of focus is going to be in the area that might have been preventable, clearly, and the determination being is, are they preventable? Are these something that we’re missing? Is there something that in our process that is faulty?’’
Cashman also didn’t dismiss the possibility of making changes to Aaron Boone’s coaching staff.
“I’m not in a position to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on that because we haven’t gone through that process,’’ the GMsaid.
Cashman believes Edwin Encarnacion was recovered from the oblique injury that sidelined him at the end of the regular season, despite his ugly performance in the ALCS.
“The way he was swinging the bat, as hard as he was … I would say that based on what we witnessed there that I would have severe doubts that there was any injury issue lingering within with the rib cage,’’ Cashman said. “He struggled, obviously during the Houston series and that was a surprise.’’
Giancarlo Stanton suffered a Grade 2 quad strain during the ALCS which would have sent him to the IL during the regular season, according to Cashman.
But Cashman is confident the Yankees made the right decision in keeping Stanton on the roster during the series, because he wouldn’t have been eligible for the World Series if he’d been removed.
“Right or wrong, I made the determination to keep him in play for the potential next stage,’’ Cashman said. “I weighed that as being more valuable than replacing him with somebody else on the roster to come and sit the bench.’’