SEE IT: Gary Sanchez hits first home run for Triple-A Syracuse Mets
Gary Sanchez, the one-time two-time All-Star catcher for the Yankees and recent Mets signee, hit his first home run for Triple-A Syracuse on Thursday night in Buffalo.
Leading off the second inning, Sanchez smacked a homer over the left-field wall on a 1-1 breaking pitch from Drew Hutchison.
The 30-year-old catcher, batting in the cleanup spot behind Mark Vientos, went 2-for-3 on the night with a walk and a strikeout. Sanchez now has four hits in seven at-bats in his first two games with Syracuse with a pair of walks.
Sanchez joined the Mets organization on a minor-league contract after the catcher exercised his opt-out clause after joining the San Francisco Giants organization on a minor-league deal at the end of March.
In 16 games at Triple-A Sacramento, Sanchez slashed .164/.319/.182 and had just nine hits (one double) and eight RBi in 69 plate appearances, walking 11 times and striking out 19 times.
After making his major league debut with the Yanks in 2015 (appearing in two games), he had a solid start to his professional career, hitting 105 home runs and tallying 262 RBI with a .847 OPS and 122 OPS+ over the first 370 games in his first four seasons. During that time he made two AL All-Star teams. However, things went downhill in the Bronx the following two years leading to a trade to the Minnesota Twins ahead of the 2022 season.
With the Twins in 2022, Sanchez slashed .205/.282/.377 good for a .659 OPS and 88 OPS+ (below average) with 16 home runs, 24 doubles, and 61 RBI over 128 games.
