Ali Sánchez is back with Aaron Boone, and the former Blue Jays catcher is headed to the Yankees for another big-league shot.
The Yankees are selecting Sánchez to the MLB roster after optioning J.C. Escarra to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. New York did not need another 40-man move to make it work.
That switch gives Boone a right-handed backup behind Austin Wells, something the roster had been missing with Wells and Escarra both hitting from the left side.
Boone also needed more from the second catcher spot. Escarra was hitting .177, while Wells had only 5 hits in 50 at-bats against left-handed pitching.
Sánchez is not arriving on a tear, but he stayed close enough to force the call. At Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, he carried a .227 average with 6 home runs.
The bigger sell is behind the plate. Sánchez owns a .183 average over 50 MLB games, so this is a defense-and-depth move far more than an offensive bet.
Blue Jays fans know that profile well. Sánchez played 8 games for Toronto in 2025 and hit .238 before the club moved him off the roster.
Ali Sánchez's glove earned him another lane
What could keep him up is the arm. MLB Trade Rumors noted that Sánchez ranked among the top 20 catchers in average pop time last year during brief stops with Toronto and Boston.
He has also thrown out 12 of 43 attempted base stealers at Triple-A this season. That gives Boone a catcher who can at least make clubs think twice about running.
The path back says plenty about how baseball still values steady catching depth. Sánchez signed a minor league deal with New York in December and waited in Scranton for the opening.
He has bounced through the Mets, Cardinals, Marlins, Blue Jays and Red Sox before this latest shot in the Bronx. At 29, this is not prospect shine. It is timing, fit and staying alive in the system.
That is what makes the Toronto angle land. Sánchez was a quiet depth catcher with the Blue Jays, yet he is now the one stepping into the Yankees dugout while New York tries to patch a soft spot behind Wells.
This may not be New York's final answer behind the plate. But Ali Sánchez is back in the majors, and a former Blue Jays reserve just grabbed a live role with a division rival.
Should the Blue Jays have held on to Ali Sánchez?
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