Gary Sánchez

Sánchez got a World Series ring after hitting .209/.349/.422 in 275 plate appearances as Willson Contreras’s backup and an occasional DH against lefties last season. The Brewers might have some interest in bringing him back, but they did acquire Bo Naylor at the trade deadline as a potential replacement.

Sánchez got the start behind the dish on Saturday and drove in the only run of the game on a groundout in the second inning. He later led off the eighth with a single and was lifted for a pinch-runner. The 33-year-old backstop is hitting .209/.352/.419 with 11 homers and 36 RBI across 264 plate appearances.

It’s been slow going in recent years, but Sánchez is the 21st catcher (min. 50 percent of career games) to reach 200 homers. Four of those catchers barely made it (200 for Bill Freehan, 201 for Gene Tenace and 202 for Bill Dickey and Todd Hundley), so Sánchez should move up a few spots quickly. He will, however, also get overtaken by Willson Contreras, who is at 198 and is still a couple of years away from no longer qualifying here.

The double with the automatic runner on base put the Brewers ahead in the 11th. Sánchez has made a case for more playing time at DH (or at catcher with William Contreras DHing) by hitting .230/.379/.473. He has two more homers than Christian Yelich (10 to 8) in 156 fewer plate appearances (206 to 362).

The acquisition of Bo Naylor in a trade with the Guardians earlier on Saturday seemed like a potential precursor to a Sánchez trade, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Rosenthal and Sammon add that the Brewers view Naylor as another layer of protection behind starter William Contreras heading toward the postseason.

Sánchez’ home run was his sixth. He hit a two-run shot off Jaden Hill in the sixth inning. Sánchez is the backup catcher, but got the start with Christian Yelich getting the day off and William Contreras sliding into the DH spot. Sánchez is hitting .206 with a .798 OPS.

If you’re going to have to get a day off, doing so against Pirates’ ace Paul Skenes isn’t the worst thing that could happen to you. Tyler Black will start in his place as the Brewers designated hitter on Friday evening and will bat cleanup.

He didn’t factor into the scoring, stranding a runner on third with nobody out in his one real chance, but Sanchez hit the ball well and took a walk. Luis Rengifo picked up the RBI on a sacrifice fly, and the Brewers would scrounge up their other run with back-to-back-to-back bunts to score a leadoff walk. Sanchez is up to a .273/.429/.758 line in his first 33 plate appearances this season. He’s certainly an interesting short-term catcher candidate with Christian Yelich’s injury opening up DH at-bats.

The Brewers would have been fine with Reese McGuire backing up Willson Contreras this year, but Sánchez was still sitting there when spring training started and was willing to take a paycut to sign on for a second stint in Milwaukee. He’s already hit three homers in just 13 at-bats, and with Andrew Vaughn out, he’ll probably continue to add playing first base against lefties to his less frequent catching duties.

Sánchez blistered a solo homer off Cole Sulser for his first homer of the 2026 campaign. The veteran backstop isn’t likely to see consistent playing time — at least not the kind that you’re looking for in a fantasy option — but there’s still plenty of pop in his right-handed bat when he does get into the game.

The Brewers were facing a four-run deficit before they came to bat in the first inning, then Sánchez got to work on that immediately, crushing a 387-foot (104.1 mph EV) two-run shot off of Anthony Kay. He also singled and struck out twice in the contest. Look for Sánchez to continue to see starts against left-handed pitching at a minimum — and he could see increased action at first base with Andrew Vaughn sidelined.

The deal is now official. Sánchez returns to Milwaukee following a one-year detour in Baltimore where injuries limited him to just 30 games. The 33-year-old backstop’s time as a fantasy-relevant option are clearly over, but he provides the Brewers with a reliable veteran backup behind ironman starter William Contreras.

Sánchez hit .231/.297/.418 for the Orioles last year, in 101 plate appearances, missing a lot of the season with a knee sprain, and played for the Brewers in 2024. The 33-year-old would seem likely to be their backup catcher behind William Contreras should this agreement be finalized.