Former Yankee Gary Sanchez, once an elite prospect who got off to a great start, looks back fondly on time with club

MILWAUKEE — Gary Sanchez’s fall was a steep one.

Few Yankees prospects in the last two decades-plus received the kind of hype the catcher did, almost from the time the organization signed him for $3 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2009, when he was 16.

His climb through the minors was not always a smooth one. Sanchez was  suspended twice, in 2011 with Class A Charleston for insubordination and  in 2014 with Double-A Trenton for what then-manager Tony Franklin said was a “disciplinary action” but was believed to be related to general comportment. But at the same time, his hitting prowess and throwing arm  had rival scouts, and certainly the Yankees, salivating.

Dubbed “The Kraken” by general manager Brian Cashman in 2015, Sanchez debuted on Oct. 3 of that season in Baltimore. He was recalled from the minors in early August 2016 as part of the franchise’s “Baby Bomber” chapter of its history, which also included the elevation to the majors of an outfield prospect named Aaron Judge.

The Yankees, seemingly out of contention and having conducted a fire sale at the trade deadline that involved the trades of Aroldis Chapman, Andrew Miller and Carlos Beltran, surprisingly made a run at a playoff spot. Sanchez, then 23, was the primary reason why. He  finished with 20 homers in 53 games, including 19 in a 37-game stretch.

That set up 2017, the first of his two All-Star years with the Yankees, when he hit .278 with 33 homers, 90 RBIs and an .876 OPS in 122 games. His  two-run double off the Astros’ Ken Giles in the eighth inning of Game 4 of the ALCS gave the Yankees a 6-4 lead, capping a rally from four runs down and causing  Yankee Stadium to shake the way its predecessor regularly did during championship runs in the late 1970s and late 1990s.

Sanchez also led the league in passed balls with 16 in 2017, which garnered little attention. Not with the number of baseballs he was consistently blasting over outfield walls.

Injuries limited Sanchez to 89 games in 2018, but he came back strong at the start of 2019, another All-Star year, one in which he hit only .232 but had 34 homers and an .841 OPS.

But cracks began to show during the last three months of 2019. Sanchez, again battling injuries, hit .190 with 11 homers and a .727 OPS in his final 44 games.

His defense, never a strong suit — though his cannon arm generally kept opposing running games at bay and pitchers such as CC Sabathia and Luis Severino always praised his game-calling abilities — increasingly became a topic.

He was tagged by some fans and media as uncaring about that side of the ball, never a fair charge according to those on the inside.

“Gary works his [butt] off,” Austin Romine, a Yankees catcher from 2011-19, said in 2018.

Though no one knew it as 2019 wound down, the struggling Sanchez was on the clock, in large part because a bat that had never been in question suddenly stopped producing. The reason for that is an organizational mystery that endures to this day. It hasn’t produced elsewhere, either.

Sanchez's time with the Yankees officially ended in March 2022 when he and Gio Urshela were dealt to the Twins for Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Josh Donaldson and Ben Rortvedt.

Still, Sanchez, now with the Brewers after brief stops with the Mets and Padres in 2023, reflects back on his time with the Yankees with overwhelmingly positive thoughts.

“Very appreciative of the Yankees' organization,” Sanchez, 31, said through his interpreter at American Family Field before Saturday night’s game against his former team. “They’re the ones that gave me the opportunity and the chance, both as a 16-year-old to sign with the organization and also to be able to debut with them. I still have a lot of friends over there in that clubhouse and a lot of great relationships . . . I don’t know where I’ll finish my career, but I’ll always be appreciative for the time I had over there.”

Sanchez appears destined to finish his career as a DH and backup catcher, his primary role  with Milwaukee thus far. Entering Saturday, he had caught four of the 15 games in which he had  appeared, hitting .190 with three homers, two doubles (including one Friday night against the Yankees) and a .680 OPS.

Though Sanchez isn’t yet in the playing-out-the-string part of his career, the days of being a Bronx fan favorite are well in the rearview mirror. They have been for a while.

“Definitely appreciative of them,” Sanchez said of Yankees fans. “Hopefully, maybe, I still have some out there that are following me and supporting me. I was always very appreciative of the support that they gave.”