MLB

Gary Sanchez hopes body holds up for short Yankees season

The mind is willing, but will Gary Sanchez’s body allow him to stay on the field during MLB’s 60-game season, scheduled to start July 23 in Washington?

When spring training vanished on March 12 due to the coronavirus, Sanchez was over a back problem but away from the Yankees’ clubhouse due to the flu. Shortly after the shutdown, Sanchez returned home to the Dominican Republic and continued to work on getting lower in his crouch to turn borderline low pitches into strikes, as per catching instructor Tanner Swanson’s suggestion.

Now, with his 6-foot-2, 230-pound body refreshed from not having to endure the wear and tear of three months of catching five and six days a week, Sanchez said he feels good and the 27-year-old promised when manager Aaron Boone puts his name in the lineup he will be available.

“As far as the amount of games I am going to play, I am not sure. I can tell you that anytime my name is in the lineup, I am going to be ready to play,’’ Sanchez said during a Zoom session after the Yankees worked out Wednesday at Yankee Stadium. “They will make a decision and see how many games I can catch behind the plate, but if my name is in the lineup, I will be ready to play.’’

Gary Sanchez
Gary SanchezN.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg

Considering lower-body injuries the past two years landed Sanchez on the injured list twice each season and limited him to 89 games in 2018 and 106 in 2019, durability has been an issue.

Perhaps a 60-game schedule will help Sanchez remain off the IL and on the field to work with an elite starting rotation, a dominant bullpen and be part of, if healthy, a muscle-bound lineup.

In a small sample taken from catching Gerrit Cole in Tuesday night’s intrasquad game, Boone was impressed with Sanchez’s defensive work during the shutdown. Sanchez said he videotaped the workouts and sent them to Swanson.

“To get out there [Tuesday night and catch five] innings with Gerrit, I thought they did a really good job,’’ said Boone, who had Sanchez catch two innings on Monday evening. “I felt they were on a good page [Tuesday]. … I thought Gary did a really good job. I am confident the bat is going to be there. I am encouraged about where he is right now.’’

Sanchez, a two-time All-Star, gets dinged for his defense, which improved last year, but though the right-handed power is real, the past two seasons Sanchez batted .211 with a .776 OPS to negate some of the 52 homers and 130 RBIs in 195 games.

Given that the opener is 14 days away, there is little time for players and pitchers to get sharp after a long layoff dominated by COVID-19 and labor problems.

“I think two weeks are going to be enough for me to get ready and catch nine innings,’’ Sanchez said. “[Tuesday] I caught five and [Wednesday] I feel really, really good. I am hoping the next time I catch another five. Depending on how the manager wants to extend my innings, follow the plan.’’

With veteran backup Austin Romine a Tiger via free agency, the Yankees are going with Kyle Higashioka as Sanchez’s backup. Higashioka, 30, grades well defensively but has played just 56 big-league games, in which he has a .164 batting average. He doesn’t have Romine’s experience and could be another reason Sanchez needs to stay on the field more than he has in the past two seasons.

The mind is willing. Can the body hold up its end of the deal?