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The San Diego Padres are getting the Gary Sanchez the Mets hoped they would when they brought him into the fold.
But after the Mets DFA’d the catcher, who also spent six seasons with the Yankees, and the Padres claimed him off waivers, Sanchez has been tearing it up.
He hit his sixth home run in his last 13 games on Tuesday night in San Diego’s 6-3 win over the Cleveland Guardians.
The three-run blast set a bit of Padres’ history as well with Sanchez now owning the crown of most home runs by a San Diego player through their first 13 games with the club.
Since joining the Padres, Sanchez has recorded 15 RBIs, 12 hits, and slashed .255/.300/.681 in 47 at-bats.
Sanchez also has a .981 OPS and took over the Padres’ catching job.
“The longer he’s here, the more you expect of him,” Padres manager Bob Melvin told MLB.com. “But coming in, we were just looking to get a little bit of an upgrade all the way around. Whether it was offense. Whether it was being able to throw out some runners. He’s always had good framing skills.
“I really didn’t know what to expect. My expectations weren’t really high. We were just going to take it day to day.”
Sanchez’s arrival in San Diego came due to a catching situation that put the Padres in desperate need of help.
“Really, it’s all about the welcoming that I received from the coaches, the front office, my fellow teammates,” Sánchez told reporters through a translator. “I do feel like I’ve played here for a long time.”
Most HR, first 13 games with @Padres
6: GARY SANCHEZ
5: Carlos Quentin
4: Steve Huntz, @flash17yes, John Mabry, Rondell White, Yasmani Grandal, Franmil Reyes, Trent Grisham, Xander Bogaerts
— High Heat Stats (@HighHeatStats) June 14, 2023The 30-year-old catcher was signed by the San Francisco Giants in March to a minor league deal, but was cut after he struggled in Triple-A.
The Mets swooped in to sign him in May and after a successful stint with Triple-A Syracuse, the Mets called Sanchez up to the big leagues.
Despite a good start, Sanchez had just one hit for the Amazins’ in three games before they ultimately decided to DFA him.
Sanchez had played parts of seven seasons with the Yankees, with whom he had won a Silver Slugger Award and made the All-Star team twice.
Still, he never quite lived up to the potential that the Yankees had expected out of him and he was eventually traded to the Minnesota Twins in 2022.
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