BooneB gushes over ‘remarkable’ Sanchez
TAMPA — Less than a year after former manager Joe Girardi went public over Gary Sanchez’s defensive deficiencies and benched the catcher, his successor gushed about Sanchez.
“The work he is doing with [Jason] Brown and [Josh] Bard is preparing him to impact both sides of the ball,” manager Aaron Boone said of Sanchez, who looks to be in better shape than last year, when his lack of flexibility led to a lack of movement required to block pitches. That resulted in 16 passed balls that tied for the most in the majors. “That is our expectation, that he is going to impact the game in a positive way on both sides of the ball.”
Boone said the attention Sanchez’s defense attracted wasn’t out of line but did point to how he arrived offensively and missed three weeks early last season with a biceps injury.
“To see the things he has done in 1 ½ years, it’s remarkable,” Boone said of the 25-year-old Sanchez, who has hit 53 homers in 672 big league at-bats. “Sometimes we forget last year he had the injury that probably set him back. Trying to play catchup when you are a young catcher trying to lead a playoff-caliber club, there is a lot that goes into that. There is a lot to that position, not just the physical part of catching and throwing and hitting.’’
Sanchez showed how he can impact a baseball by hitting the cover off one during batting practice Sunday. Monday is the first day of full-squad workouts and all 63 players are expected to be on hand.
Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar, who are in the mix for openings at second and third base, respectively, participated in early fielding drills Sunday under the eye of infield coach Carlos Mendoza.
The Yankees and Rays had low-level conversations about Jake Odorizzi before the right-hander was dealt to the Twins late Saturday night for shortstop prospect Jermaine Palacios but never came close to a deal.