New York Yankees: 3 landing spots for Gary Sanchez
By David Hill
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros clearly value defense behind the plate. They keep coming back to Martin Maldonado, acquiring him twice via trade before just signing him in free agency. Houston is also reportedly discussing extending him again, locking the defensively minded backstop into their system.
However, the Astros are not blind to Maldonado’s offensive shortcomings. He had a -17 OPS+ heading into Friday’s action, with five hits in 59 plate appearances. To counter that, the Astros signed Jason Castro as the offensive side of their tandem, which has worked out well thus far.
The problem is that Castro, for his respectable power potential, has all of two seasons where he posted an above average OPS, and has done so just once since his lone All Star season in 2013. As impressive as his current start to the season may be, it is not going to last.
Enter Gary Sanchez. He not only has a better track record than Castro, but he could be a potential long term solution. Not only would he be getting away from the New York Yankees, which could rejuvenate his bat, but he would be heading to another team with winning expectations. Additionally, with Maldonado on the roster, his defensive shortcomings would not be as glaring.
Next. The Yankees' most valuable position player. dark
The Houston Astros could stand to upgrade their catching situation. Acquiring Gary Sanchez could be the answer.