CHICAGO (AP) — Two-time All-Star Gary Sánchez was designated for assignment Thursday by the New York Mets when they reinstated fellow catcher Tomás Nido from the injured list.
Sánchez went 1 for 6 with three strikeouts and an RBI in three games with New York, looking shaky at times behind the plate. With two Mets catchers on the IL, he joined the club on a minor league contract this month and was promoted to the big leagues last Friday after hitting well in a short stint at Triple-A Syracuse.
The team has seven days to trade Sánchez, release him or send him outright to the minors — an assignment he could decline if he'd rather become a free agent again.
Sánchez also spent time in the minors with San Francisco this season before getting released May 2 and signing with the Mets a week later. His best seasons came across town with the Yankees, where he was runner-up in 2016 AL Rookie of the Year voting and made the AL All-Star team in 2017 and 2019.
He was traded to Minnesota before the 2022 season and batted .205 with 16 homers and 61 RBIs in 128 games last year.
Nido had been sidelined since May 7 due to dry eye syndrome. He had plugs placed in both eyes that help them remain lubricated and improve his vision.
A defensive specialist, Nido went 3 for 15 with a home run during a four-game rehab assignment with Class A St. Lucie. Before going on the injured list, he batted .118 (6 for 51) with one RBI and no extra-base hits in 19 major league games this season. He struck out 16 times and walked only twice.
Nido will likely serve as the backup to promising rookie Francisco Álvarez for now. Álvarez was in the starting lineup for Thursday night's series finale against the Chicago Cubs. He began the night hitting .253 with six homers, 13 RBIs and an .822 OPS in 29 games.
New York will need to make another decision about its catching situation when Omar Narváez returns from a calf injury. Narváez began a rehab assignment Thursday with High-A Brooklyn.
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