Hector Sanchez

The Padres claimed Sanchez off waivers after the White Sox designated him for assignment in May. He saw a brief spike in playing time late in the year, flashing an impressive .286/.348/.524 line in a tiny sample with San Diego before Austin Hedges was called up from Triple-A El Paso. Sanchez was productive in the extremely hitter-friendly environs of the Pacific Coast League, mashing a career-high 13 homers in just 199 plate appearances. While Hedges projects to be the organization's long-term solution behind the plate, Sanchez has the requisite intrigue to be targeted as an endgame filler in deep leagues that require the use of two catchers if he can secure an Opening Day roster spot. Now 27 years old, there is no guarantee he will receive that opportunity.

Sanchez beat out rookie Andrew Susac for the backup role behind Buster Posey to start the year, but his struggles at the plate (.179/.207/.304) and an inability to stay healthy had him spending the majority of the 2015 season either in the minors or on the disabled list. A switch-hitting catcher who isn't a liability on defense has value to an organization, but the Giants decided Susac was the better option to have behind Posey and declined to tender Sanchez a contract after the season. He was brought in by the White Sox on a minor league deal with a spring training invite, but only after the team added Dioner Navarro and Alex Avila on major league deals.

Sanchez spent the first four months of the 2014 campaign as the backup to Buster Posey in San Francisco, slashing .196/.237/.301 in 66 games, but a foul ball caught his facemask in late July, resulting in a mild concussion. It indeed seemed like a relatively minor scare, as Sanchez started a minor league rehab assignment a week later. But in a cruel twist of fate, Sanchez was hit with another foul tip in a game with Triple-A Fresno and his symptoms resurfaced. Andrew Susac performed admirably in his stead over the remainder of the season (.267/.323/.465 with three homers after his return) and likely has the inside edge on the backup job entering spring training, but Sanchez was cleared for the Venezuelan Winter League and should be fine to play, and hopefully catch, at the start of next season.

Sanchez battled a slew of injuries at the beginning of the 2013 season and ceded the backup catcher role to veteran Guillermo Quiroz. After getting healthy and spending some time in the minors, Sanchez made it back to the majors to put together a .248/.300/.349 line in 140 plate appearances. The switch-hitting catcher actually improved his walk rate (5.0 BB%) and strikeout rate (20.7 K%) from 2012, but his BABIP came back down to earth (.296 in 2013 compared to .349 in 2012), which resulted in the lower batting average. He is likely to see around 200-250 plate appearances backing up Buster Posey in 2014.

Sanchez amassed 227 plate appearances in his rookie season as the Giants' backup catcher with a .280/.295/.390 slash line and three home runs. A good receiver behind the plate with an above average arm, Sanchez will remain the primary backup in 2013. The ability to switch hit gives the Giants some flexibility, but his overall offensive numbers were not analytically impressive. A 2.2 percent walk rate is abominable, and it is not likely he will hit above .270 again. His .349 BABIP is likely to regress, and his 15.2 percent swinging-strike rate and 43.5 percent chase rate indicate that his 22.9 percent strikeout rate will increase.

Sanchez hit 12 homers with 84 RBI over 365 at-bats in the minors last season as a 21-year-old, so he's somewhat intriguing in keeper fantasy leagues as a catcher. A switch-hitter, Sanchez even got a cup of coffee in the bigs in September and held his own. While he could win the backup role in 2012, he's likely a couple of years away from making a major impact in the majors, and Buster Posey is blocking his path in San Francisco.