Regardless of whether the Giants trade for Giancarlo Stanton or watch him get dealt somewhere else, the team will have to fill the rest of its holes in various positions around the field. Their most urgent needs after finding the power hitter they hope to acquire in Stanton are a quality center fielder (preferably in the form of a top-of-the-lineup bat), a third baseman, bullpen relief, and reliable backup catcher for Buster Posey.
Free agent Nick Hundley would certainly fit the bill as Posey’s backup and the Giants would, once again, benefit from Hundley’s leadership and suitability behind the plate. As it stands, Buster Posey is the only catcher on the roster and if the Giants are unable come to terms with Hundley, who is probably their first choice, they’ll still desire the same qualities of locker room leadership and a consistent veteran hitter to give Posey his rest.
Enter Hector Sanchez. He’s familiar, cheaper than Hundley, reliable in a backup role, and was at one point a fan favorite in San Francisco.
In 2006, the Giants signed Sanchez as an amateur free agent and he went on to spend the first five years of his career in the Bay Area. His call up in 2011 came in part because of the infamous collision at home plate that threw Posey’s career behind the plate into question and created an entire new rule in the game. Sanchez, along with Eli Whiteside and Chris Stewart, platooned at catcher in Posey’s absence the rest of the year.
Sanchez played four games in the Giants’ victorious postseason run in 2012. But after he was left off the playoff roster in 2014, he elected free agency. It wasn’t long before Sanchez signed a deal with the White Sox in 2015, but after only two games in Chicago he was selected off waivers by the Padres.
In 15 truly remarkable games against the Giants last season, Sanchez batted .300 with 11 RBI and hit four of his season total of eight home runs. That’s half of his long balls against one team. He went yard off of Steven Okert (a walkoff), Mark Melancon, and took Jeff Samardzija deep twice. Considering his success against them last season, the Giants simultaneously weaken a division rival and add to their depth behind Posey.
As a whole, Sanchez batted .235 with 11 home runs and 32 RBI in 101 games over two years in San Diego, decent numbers for a backup catcher, comparable to Hundley’s and at a much cheaper price.
Along with his inexpensive price tag, it will be easier to sign Sanchez to a one-year deal as opposed to Hundley, whose success as a backup catcher last season may cause other interested teams to offer him a longer contract. In so doing, Sanchez becomes a suitable placeholder as the Giants groom Aramis Garcia to become their long-term backup catcher as early as 2019.
The Giants drafted Garcia out of Florida International University in the second round of the 2014 MLB Draft. Since then, the 24-year-old had two stints in the Arizona Fall League and became the top catching prospect in the Giants’ minor league system.
He’s never played higher than Double-A, but Garcia was added to the 40-man roster and his success gives him a strong case to be a September call up next season. The Giants see him as a potential backup catcher that is much more cost-effective and younger than both Sanchez and Hundley. Furthermore, if Posey needs a position switch down the line, Garcia could become a plug-and-play homegrown option behind the plate.
Looking deeper into the catchers in the free agent market, Sanchez remains one of the Giants’ best options. As the youngest catcher on the market, Sanchez stands out among the aging Carlos Ruiz (39) and Miguel Montero (34) at just 28-years-old. Although Jonathan Lucroy and Welington Castillo also stand out as promising free agents with their strong offensive numbers, neither are as cheap or accustomed to serving as a backup catcher like Sanchez.