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Gary Sanchez had worn out his welcome in New York. He arrived as a top prospect and became an All Star and won a Silver Slugger Award. In the last two years, things have gone downhill. His bat no longer allowed the team to look past his awful defense. But at least one fan believes that he is capable of a big comeback season. Initially, I was excited about the Twins receiving a catcher via trade. After losing Mitch Garver via trade, receiving a catcher in a later trade made sense. That excitement cooled when looking at Gary Sanchez's offensive and defensive numbers. I quickly realized that he has not been good. He has had some moments of improvement and growth, but overall, nothing shows he is worth hanging onto. With everything he's had stacked against him, a change of scenery, moving from the Bronx Bombers to the Twins, maybe just what revives his career. As I break down his defensive and offensive woes, I also found that his hard work ethic, along with fresh hitting and catching coaches, maybe just what Sanchez needs to make a comeback. Replacing a fan favorite When news broke of Mitch Garver's trade to the Texas Rangers, there was a collective shock and sadness from Minnesota baseball fans. The trade was hard to digest, but the Twins had an everyday shortstop and still had Ryan Jeffers and Ben Rortvedt behind the plate. Just as fans were coming to terms with that trade, and then excited by the Sonny Gray trade, an even more shocking trade came to light. Late Sunday night, the Twins sent Josh Donaldson, Ben Rortvedt, and the newest acquisition Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Yankees in exchange for Gary Sanchez and Gio Urshela. The initial assumption was that the Twins might use Sanchez in a trade for pitching, but with Garver and Rortvedt on new teams, Gary Sanchez will likely be one of the Twins' catchers. There is no doubt that Garver showed big improvements over his time with the Twins, both offensively and defensively. Because of that, as well as his presence in the media and on Twitter, he became a fan favorite, The idea that Gary Sanchez of the hated Yankees is replacing a fan favorite may not be sitting well with many Twins fans. Defensive Struggles It will take a lot of change for Twins fans (or coaches or pitchers) to be comfortable with Sanchez behind the plate. His defensive metrics show that he struggles with pitch presentation. The numbers tend to improve and improve more as he works on his positioning and framing. They will have to improve for him to keep playing. https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/gary-sanchez-596142?stats=statcast-r-fielding-mlb The 6'2", 230-pound catcher has been tagged "The Worst Catcher in Baseball," and we can see why if you go solely on his defensive metrics. Watching the video helps as well. Gary Sanchez's pitch framing and balance issues have been the bane of his existence in New York. A catcher's success is based on his positioning behind the plate in an effort to effectively frame a pitch, which seems to be Sanchez's biggest downfall. He has consistently had a problem maintaining his balance on his left side, leading to dropping down to his knees, which has allowed a lot of passed balls. With framing and receiving, he sits back on his heels with his seat below knee level, and he's moving to the ball with his whole body. Gary Sanchez Catching Problems Dissected Because of his positioning, Sanchez catches the ball with large swiping motions instead of small movements receiving the ball. There is no thought that he will ever win any Gold Gloves behind the plate. Last season, he spent time in on the New York bench, including during the playoffs. The Yankees invested in help for Sanchez that may have helped him get started in the right direction, even if it was too little too late. Offensive Struggles Even though he wasn't what the Yankees were hoping for after his rookie season in 2017, the team continued to give him chances because of his offensive performance early in his career. Gary Sanchez is fantastic offensively, he is an All-Star, but the past two seasons, on top of his defensive struggles, he has still struggled offensively. The one-time All-Star has slumped recently in numbers. The one thing that Sanchez is very capable of is hitting home runs. Last year Sanchez hit 23 home runs, one of them being a clutch grand-slam to win the game on September 5th, 2021, to beat the Orioles. I hope that Sanchez is willing to do whatever it takes to improve and give the Twins the edge they are deserving. The Yankees saw enough potential in Sanchez to invest time and coaching to improve his skills and get back to where he was before his injuries in 2018. Willingness to do the work The Yankees hired a catching coach, Tanner Swanson (the former Twins minor league catching coordinator), specifically to work with Sanchez. Swanson previously helped Mitch Garver improve, and it seems that the catcher whisperer had done it again. While working with Swanson, Sanchez had a vast improvement cutting down on passed balls based on changing his position behind the plate. Sanchez does have an impressive pop time of 1.93 seconds (League average is 2.01 seconds) and a cannon for an arm. When he is set right, and in a good rhythm, Sanchez quickly gets people out almost anywhere on the field, which is a defensive dream. After working with Sanchez for some time, Tanner Swanson told AP News, "I think overall just a much more confident version of the Gary Sánchez than we saw in 2020," Swanson said. "He has attacked the offseason and been accountable for his performance in 2020. I think he's in a perfect place, and his process is sound. I've been pleased." With Swanson at the helm, Sanchez learned how to use minimal glove movement to improve his strike count by reaching from below the strike zone and making small quick movements to steal the 'low-strike,' a technique Swanson also worked on with Mitch Garver, Ben Rortvedt, and other catchers in the Twins organization. As Sanchez continued to work on his defense, it was clear that he was not improving much. When he stopped being productive with the bat too, he needed to move on from the Yankees. Gary Sanchez is not a lost cause yet; perhaps a change of scenery by moving to Minnesota, a new catching coach, and a second chance would benefit the catcher. Why I Believe Gary Sanchez Can Have a Big Comeback Season The Twins have hired several new coaches in the offseason, but two will be especially instrumental in working with Sanchez. David Popkins is the new hitting coach, and on December 10th, the Minnesota Twins hired a new coach, former big-league catcher Hank Conger who has been coaching in KBO since before the pandemic. Hank Conger is a former MLB catcher who bounced around as a coach in the minors for three seasons after his 2015 season with the Astros. He has spent the past two years as a coach in Korea for the Lotte Giants. While this will be his MLB debut as a coach, the resounding applause of his hire is promising for the Twins and, hopefully, the catcher core. Conger has seen a lot of change from when he was drafted and began in professional baseball to now. Pitch framing is his most significant focus. All of his managers were former catchers; Conger was able to get many perspectives that he credits with who he was as a catcher and how he is now as a catcher's coach. When it comes to pitchers and hitters that come up, Conger's focus is on how he can help the catchers have all the information on his pitchers and the opponent's hitters. Information comes from scouting reports or in-game information. The relationship with the pitchers is just as crucial to Conger as it should be to the catcher. The catcher-pitcher relationship is the most important relationship on the field; from game management to communication, there must be trust between the two players and, most importantly, hard work. Sanchez is no stranger to hard work with pitchers; in fact, he's previously worked with Sonny Gray, the most recent Twins pitching acquisition from the Cincinnati Reds, and they have a history. Both players played for the Yankees in 2018, but the relationship was not productive. Gray had Sanchez as a catcher, but after a string of miscommunication and inconsistent tempo between the two, Gray opted for Austin Romine as his catcher. That did not stop Sanchez from wanting to improve. Gary Sanchez spent a lot of time watching Gray and Romine from the dugout, learning the pitcher and catcher's pitches, personality, and tempo. The hope is that the reunion in a new environment will work together with the help of the pitching and catching staff to create the tempo they couldn't find in 2018. Be ready for a big season Sanchez is no stranger to powerful hitting and elite catching. The past two seasons, he certainly has struggled to find his stride. Whether it was a case of being in his head or his mechanics, there is an opportunity here in Minnesota for Sanchez to start fresh. If Sanchez can improve his form behind the plate and framing, he just might become a dangerous weapon for the Twins, both defensive and offensively. He already possesses the power at the plate with his swing to be a part of the beloved "bomba-squad." Whether as the DH or behind the plate, he has the potential to be a significant asset on this squad. The Twins organization is set up for players to succeed. They are finding the coaches and players to grow a successful team, and if he puts in the work to be successful, and with the new rotation of pitchers and coaching staff, Sanchez will have a chance to shine. View full article

Fans may remember Hank Conger as a staple in the league during his catching days for the Angels, Rays, and Astros. The former journeyman may now be the most valuable asset on the Twins coaching staff. You can't go wrong with a guy named Hank. Hank Aaron, Hank Williams, Hardware Hank. Add Hank Conger to the list. The Twins announced on December 10th that Hank Conger will fulfill duties as catching and first-base coach for the 2022 Minnesota Twins. Conger spent 2021 coaching in the Korean Baseball League (KBO) and is well-known for being a 'clubhouse rock' during the Houston Astros 2015 playoff drive. Conger played professional baseball from 2009-18, including seven seasons in the majors. Most notably, Conger was a staple for the Los Angeles Angels from 2010-14, spending 251 games beyond the dish for the Halos. He finished his MLB career with a .221/.294/.366 slash line alongside 31 HR and 114 RBI. Similar to Mike Redmond in the Joe Mauer era, Conger was never an elite superstar, spending most of his time backing up Chris Iannetta, Jeff Mathis, and (old friend) Jason Castro. Yet like Redmond, Conger's value to an MLB roster was valuable beyond numbers in terms of knowledge. In fact, Redmond's post-playing career has the potential to be a blueprint for Conger (with hopefully more wins). Redmond and Conger had very different MLB careers; one played 13 seasons, the other's career was just over half of that. Redmond was a career .287 hitter, Conger's career average was closer to the Mendoza Line than it was to Redmond's average. The beautiful thing? None of that matters. What does, however, is that both men were backup catchers who played on successful teams. Conger never won a World Series like Redmond did with the '03 Marlins, yet played on multiple playoff teams, including the '14 Angels and '15 Astros (alongside two winning 'playoff-less' seasons in Los Angeles). And just because he wasn't the top guy doesn't mean that Conger's experience won't be extremely valuable in a coaching role for the Twins. The catcher is the quarterback of the baseball field; there's no arguing that the man beyond the dish is responsible for retaining the most information, strategically calling formations and shifts, and possessing miniscule information that can break or break baseball games. Conger did all of that with three different teams, different coaching staffs, and a plethora of different pitchers. Conger caught household names like Dallas Keuchel and Jered Weaver alongside countless rookies making their MLB debuts. So? Isn't that part of the job description for all catchers? Yes, but factor in Minnesota's young pitching staff and uncertainly in the catching department and Conger is a one-two punch of relatable, yet wise. Barely older than Twins ace Kenta Maeda (who will miss the 2022 season), Conger 'gets it' when it comes to today's game. He understands the tricks of the trade that make teams successful in the 21st century and will be able to relate on a personal level. Plus, it appears that Conger is a genuinely easy person to enjoy based on reviews by former teammates and media personnel. The second half of that one-two punch is perhaps the most important; navigating the uncertainly of the Twins' catching department. Mitch Garver, Ryan Jeffers, and Ben Rortvedt will almost certainly fulfill the 2022 season beyond the dish. How that will look? We'll have to wait and see. Both Garver and Jeffers (more specifically, Garver) have shown moments of brilliance behind, and at the plate, yet have lacked the consistency to become MLB staples at the position. Newcomer and Verona, Wisconsin, native Ben Rortvedt is the most talented of the three on the defensive side of the ball but hopes to sprout his offensive value in 2022. Match that with the fact that the '22 team will be without Kenta Maeda, Jose Berrios, and perhaps Michael Pineda makes for an interesting situation. Conger's experience and leadership will be vital in developing relationships and communication between young, inexperienced pitchers and the catching staff. Conger has his work cut out for him, yet this could be the first stepping stone towards a successful career on the coaching side of Major League Baseball. The resume and cover letter look excellent, we'll see if the chips fall the right way. MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook, or email View full article

The Twins announced on Friday morning their official 2022 coaching staff. Former big-league catcher Hank Conger and long-time Twins minor league pitching coach Luis Ramirez are the new additions. Others have changed roles. Find out more here. On Friday morning, reports from Korea were announcing that the Twins were hiring former big-league catcher Hank Conger as a coach. He had been the bench coach for the Lotte Giants in the KBO. The 34-year-old former first-round pick spent parts of seven seasons in the big leagues with the Angels, Astros and Rays. He played in 84 games for the 2007 Cedar Rapids Kernels as well. Conger will be the Twins new first base coach and work with the catchers. Maybe his "How to be a Catcher with Domingo Ayala and Hank Conger" video gives us some idea of his coaching style. Tommy Watkins had been the team's first base coach in recent years. He will move across the diamond and become the team's third base coach and continue to work with the team's outfielders. Tony Diaz will no longer be the third base coach. He will become the team's assistant bench coach and continue to work with the infielders. In addition, Luis Ramirez has been added as the team's assistant pitching coach. Ramirez had been a pitching coach and coordinator in the Twins system for the past 16 seasons after playing pro ball for 15 seasons in the US, Venezuela, Colombia and Taiwan. In 2021, he was a Wichita Wind Surge pitching coach. Last weekend on Twins Spotlight, RHP Ryan Mason discussed Ramirez as his pitching coach. "Luis is a wealth of knowledge, and he is such a great person to be around. He keeps everything light. He is such a good coach, in general. He has such a good feel for keeping people on track and on time, doing your job accordingly, being an adult. He really has a good knack for keeping you in line." Earlier in the offseason, the Twins announced that former Padres manager Jayce Tingler had been added as the team's bench coach. David Popkins was named as a hitting coach, and he will work with long-time Twins coach Rudy Hernandez. Wes Johnson remains the pitching coach, and Pete Maki is now the Bullpen Coach. That is the role he has held the past two seasons. Finally, Nate Dammann remains the Quality Control Coach. View full article