It's May 2 and there's a former All-Star and Silver Slugger catcher hitting free agency. Gary Sánchez signed a minor-league deal with the Giants this past offseason and it contained a common stipulation that Sánchez had the right to opt out if he wasn't added to the Giants' 40-man roster by May 1.
That deadline has come and gone and the Giants didn't add Sánchez, so he has elected free agency, according to The Athletic. He's now available to sign with any team.
Sánchez, 30, was once on his way to being one of the more feared sluggers in baseball. He clubbed 20 homers in just 53 games (201 at-bats) in 2016 and then went for 33 homers and 90 RBI in 2017, his first full season. He's a two-time All-Star who fell out of favor with the Yankees and was traded to the Twins prior to last season. In 128 games for Minnesota, he hit .205/.282/.377 (88 OPS+) with 24 doubles, 16 homers, 61 RBI and 0.9 WAR.
The Twins moved on after the season and Sánchez couldn't find an MLB deal to his liking. For 16 games with Triple-A Sacramento this season, he hit .164/.319/.182 without a home run. He struck out 19 times in 55 at-bats.
Still, he's 30 -- not 40 -- and isn't overly far removed from being a productive MLB player. Just to name one example of a possible landing spot, the Angels currently have their first two catchers on the injured list. Their manager, Phil Nevin, was on the Yankees' coaching staff from 2017-21. Angels hitting coach Marcus Thames and assistant coach Jason Brown also crossed paths with Sánchez in his Yankees days, so there's plenty of familiarity there.
