Sanchez primed for backup role

As Gary Sanchez was tearing up the Arizona Fall League, the Yankees traded away John Ryan Murphy, seemingly opening the door for the 23-year-old slugger to assume the backup role. It's not official yet, but Brian Cashman said the opportunity is there:

Yanks Gm Cashman seems ready to give top. prospect Gary Sanchez every opportunity to win the backup catcher's job.

— Daniel Barbarisi (@DanBarbarisi) December 4, 2015

"[Sanchez will] take a significant run at it. I'm not promising him the position, but he's clearly continued his domination of development."

— Daniel Barbarisi (@DanBarbarisi) December 4, 2015

It feels like we've heard about Sanchez for YEARS, which makes sense since he was signed as a 17-year-old out of the Dominican Republic back in 2009. After some issues with his attitude and growth in the minors, Sanchez matured and began to re-establish himself as a stud prospect. This season between Trenton and Scranton, he hit .274/.330/.485 with 18 homers and 62 RBI. He carried that success into the Arizona Fall League following a cup of coffee in the majors, slashing .295/.357/.625 with seven homers and 21 RBI in just 88 at-bats. With Brian McCann entering his age 32 season on the third year of a five-year deal, Sanchez seems to be on his way towards getting groomed to be the starter in the near future. The opportunity to put his foot in the door as a backup is there for the taking this spring.