What Adjustments Gary Sánchez Has Made Offensively To Rebound After Last Season

New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez made several adjustments to his swing this offseason with hitting coaches to improve after his performance last season

Looking to bounce back after a season he'd like to forget, Gary Sánchez spent this past offseason making adjustments. 

The backstop lost his starting job behind the plate by the end of the 2020 regular season, hitting .147 (23-for-156) with 64 strikeouts in 49 games. Looking back once the Yankees were eliminated from postseason contention, after appearing in only three of New York's seven playoff games, Sánchez recognized that changes needed to be made. 

"After the season was done, I worked with Marcus [Thames] and P.J. [Pilittere] here in Tampa," Sánchez said through the Yankees' interpreter. "There were some adjustments that needed to be made and I had the opportunity to work with them here."

Working with Thames and Pilittere, New York's hitting coaches, Sánchez explained that he focused on several different tweaks to improve at the plate.

"One of the things that [Thames] told me was to keep my weight back, keep more pressure on my back leg, let the pitch travel a little more and try to have a compact swing a good swing on the ball. That was the key, that was what we wanted to make an adjustment on," Sánchez said.

Gary Sánchez was asked if he feels pressure after last season:

"No. I'm too focused on my job, too focused on the work I need to do. I want to go out there and have fun and enjoy playing this game ... I can't start thinking about the bad results of last year."

— Max Goodman (@MaxTGoodman) February 20, 2021

The 28-year-old spent some time in the Dominican Republic as well this offseason, getting extra at-bats by playing winter ball. Three days into Yankees camp, it's hard to say whether or not Sánchez's hard work has paid off, but the backstopis confident that these revisions to his swing—along with all the subsequent reps—will help him turn his career around.

"I do feel good with the adjustments I've made and I think they're going to be key and they're going to make a difference," Sánchez said. "I feel great and I definitely think that this year is going to be different."

As for his defense, Sánchez explained that he'll be using his one-knee stance behind the plate again this year. It's something he introduced last spring, a position that he's grown more comfortable with as time has gone by.

"I think we've made a lot of progress," he said. "We've done a lot of work with the right knee down, as well with the left knee down. We keep working on it. I think we're working on a lot of different things that I think are going to allow me to be better."

His manager, Aaron Boone, feels the same way.

"I think he looks really good. I like where he's at from a catching standpoint right now," Boone said on Saturday. "I feel like he's got a really good routine going right now that he's, frankly, helping to drive a lot of his routine. He's made some adjustments offensively, shortening up his swing. So I would say here in the early days he's doing quite well."

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