Mets trade Ali Sánchez to the Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals announced their acquisition of former Mets catcher Ali Sánchez in exchange for cash considerations this morning. The Cardinals will add Sánchez to their 40-man roster, which will presumably feature long-time catcher Yadier Molina at the top of the depth chart. Sánchez was one of three players the Mets designated for assignment yesterday to make room for new additions Jonathan Villar, Albert Almora, and Khalil Lee.

The Mets signed Sánchez as an international free agent in 2013 with high hopes for his talents after posting good numbers in the Dominican Summer League. Sánchez spent most of his time in Double-A Binghamton in 2019, where he recorded a .674 OPS in 294 plate appearances, stifling what many hoped would be promising offensive production. The Venezuelan-born catcher recorded one hit in ten plate appearances over five games for the Mets in 2020. Sánchez has a good defensive reputation, however, and made an appearance on this site’s 2021 prospect list.

This leaves the Mets with three catchers on their 40-man roster: the newly signed James McCann, backup catcher since 2017 Tomás Nido, and Patrick Mazeika, a 2015 draft pick who was called up, but saw no playing time, in 2020.