TAMPA — Look, Alex Rodriguez can’t carry the Yankees forever. He’s got another seven years, 12 tops, before he won’t be able to electrify the fan base anymore like he did Thursday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
One candidate to be part of the next core, a wave of which the Yankees are banking heavily, marked a milestone of sorts Thursday. While Gary Sanchez’s 2016 Grapefruit League debut understandably couldn’t hold a candle to A-Rod going deep on his first swing of the year, the catcher offered small signals he can approach his hype. Maybe even this year as Brian McCann’s backup.
“I thought he did a good job today,” manager Joe Girardi said of Sanchez, after the Yankees suffered a 13-4 bludgeoning by the Phillies. “I thought he blocked the ball well. I thought he received the ball well. I thought his at-bats were good. … It was all positive.”
Sanchez, 23, caught the first five innings without incident. At the plate, the righty swinger went 0-for-1 with two walks, the latter one coming against Phillies prospect Mark Appel during which he climbed out of an 0-and-2 hole.
The Yankees paid Sanchez $3 million in 2009 to join their organization, and he owns a .274/.339/.459 slash line in 2,399 minor-league plate appearances. His defense and maturity proved to be his obstacles, and by all accounts, he has come a long way with both.
“He’s good. I like the way he catches,” said Ivan Nova, who started for the Yankees. “The target was real nice. I told him, ‘Don’t be afraid to call the pitch that you want to throw. If I don’t like it, I’ll shake my head.’ But it was great.”
The immaturity manifested itself in multiple ways. Sanchez showed up to 2012 spring training, his first big-league camp, overweight. In 2014, Double-A Trenton manager Tony Franklin benched Sanchez for what Franklin told the Trentonian was “disciplinary action.”
A game-changer, Sanchez said Thursday, occurred when his wife, Sahaira, gave birth to their daughter, Sarah, who is now 18 months old.
“Every year that goes by, you mature as a person,” Sanchez said through an interpreter. “Now I have a family and I have a baby, and it’s something that pushes me every day, to work hard for them.”
Said Marcus Thames, the Yankees’ new assistant hitting coach, who spent substantial time with Sanchez each of the previous three seasons: “He’s getting older, and that’s what I saw when I first got here. He was 20, 21 years old, from the Dominican, so he was still really trying to get used to the US.
“Great kid, great attitude. Every single year, he’s gotten better and better and better. Last year was really great to see.”
Last year, which included a promotion to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, a cameo with the Yankees and a great run in the Arizona Fall League — his seven home runs in 22 games led all players — made the Yankees confident enough to trade their No. 2 catcher, John Ryan Murphy, to Minnesota for outfielder Aaron Hicks and open up a backup catcher competition among Sanchez, longtime organizational guy Austin Romine (who is out of options) and minor-league free agent Carlos Corporan (who has an opt-out at the end of March).
“Every ballplayer has a dream to make it to the big leagues,” Sanchez said. “So yeah, sure, it’s a dream, but as far as my dream and responsibilities here, my responsibility is to work hard every day and let them decide if I make the team or not.”
“We’re going to do what’s best for the team and what’s best for his long-term future and everything,” Girardi said of Sanchez. “I don’t think we consider him necessarily to be a backup his whole career. So you’ve got to weigh all of the things that you’re looking at.”
The Yankees are looking at, hoping for, a future roster filled with young talent, featuring Sanchez as a key piece. Can he reach that peak? His potential at least gives you something to watch on A-Rod’s days off.
