The Cardinals have acquired 24-year old catcher Ali Sanchez from the New York Mets for cash considerations.
The Mets designated Sanchez for assignment this week after signing Jonathan Villar. Sanchez was the Mets #21 prospect in 2020 according to MLB Pipeline.
Sanchez made his MLB debut with the Mets in 2020, but only had ten plate appearances in five games, going 1-for-9. He’s regarded as an above-average defensive catcher with solid bat-to-ball skills but minimal power. He split the 2019 season between Double-A and Triple-A, batting a combined .261/.326/.322 with a homer and 17 doubles.
He hit .259/.317/.331 in parts of six minor league seasons, though it should be noted that Sanchez has only fanned in 14.2 percent of his 1484 minor league plate appearances.
Sanchez has thrown out 46 percent of attempted base thieves against him in his minor league career.
The Cardinals have four catchers (Molina, Knizner, Herrera, and Sanchez) on their 40-man roster, which now has 39 players on it. Sanchez will compete for the backup spot behind Molina with Knizner and Tyler Heineman, a non-roster invitee to Spring Training.
Julio Rodriguez (Cards #15 prospect) is projected to start the year at Triple-A.
20-year old Ivan Herrera (Cards #4 prospect) has only played two games at Double-A.
Aaron Antonini, Dennis Ortega, Pedro Pages and Carlos Soto are also non-roster invitees.
