Free agency is underway for Major League Baseball, and the Milwaukee Brewers have already lost two players that, quite frankly, few expected to be back with the team in 2025. Willy Adames, who made himself one of the hottest names on the market by hitting .251/.331/.462 with 32 home runs, 112 RBI, and 21 stolen bases, signed with the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night.
His seven-year $182 million deal is the richest in Giants franchise history and the third-richest contract ever signed by a Dominican-born player in MLB history. Only Albert Pujols and Robinson Cano signed richer deals.
Hours later, it was reported that Gary Sanchez had found a new home too.
Former Milwaukee Brewers Catcher Gary Sanchez Signed with the Baltimore Orioles
A couple of weeks ago, the Brewers avoided arbitration with fan-favorite backup catcher (and Spring Training star) Eric Haase. This development meant that Sanchez was likely not going to return to Milwaukee as Haase signed for just $1.35 million, a fraction of the $7 million Sanchez made with the Brewers in 2024.
According to multiple reports, Sanchez has signed with the Baltimore Orioles on a one-year deal that brings him back to the American League East, a division he competed in for years as a member of the New York Yankees:
The Orioles and Gary Sanchez are in agreement on a 1-year deal, per @JonHeyman pic.twitter.com/EZlQYd91yP
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) December 8, 2024
Sanchez appeared in 89 games for the Brewers last season, hitting .220/.307/.392 with 11 home runs and 39 RBI.
Fans may recall that Sanchez’s tenure with Milwaukee got off to a very weird start. The news of his agreement with the Brewers broke well before Spring Training. But the Spring Training started, and no news of an official agreement was reported.
As it turned out, there were concerns with Sanchez’s physical and lingering effects of an injury he suffered with the San Deigo Padres in 2023.
However, the two sides eventually agreed to an incentive-laden deal and the two-time All-Star eventually reported to the team.
It Did Not Make Sense for the Milwaukee Brewers to Keep Gary Sanchez
As mentioned, Sanchez only appeared in 89 games for the Brewers in 2024. While he did remain relatively healthy (besides a short IL sting with a calf strain), it was hard for the former Silver Slugger to get playing time and at bats while backing up William Contreras.
Contreras, who has now won the Silver Slugger Award in each of his two seasons with the Brewers, played in 155 games and caught 120 of them.
While the Orioles have a young two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger at the position themselves in Adley Rutschman, he only caught 103 of the 148 games that he played.
Sanchez will get more opportunities to play in Baltimore than he did in Milwaukee.
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