The Minnesota Twins agreed to a $9 million deal with catcher Gary Sanchez to avoid arbitration, multiple outlets reported Thursday.
An arbitration hearing had been scheduled for Tuesday for the two-time All-Star. Sanchez, 29, had asked for $9.5 million and the Twins had offered $8.5 million.
He entered Thursday batting .224 with seven homers and 27 RBIs in 44 games in his first season with Minnesota.
Sanchez was acquired in a March 13 trade from the New York Yankees along with infielder Gio Urshela in exchange for third baseman Josh Donaldson, shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa and catcher Ben Rortvedt.
An All-Star in 2017 and 2019, Sanchez is a career .229 hitter with 145 homers and 367 RBIs in 582 games with the Yankees (2015-21) and Twins.
The deal was reached soon after the Chicago Cubs and catcher Willson Contreras agreed on a $9.625 million deal to avoid arbitration. Contreras and Sanchez will both be free agents after this season.
–Field Level Media
