Gary

Sánchez

He didn’t factor into the scoring, stranding a runner on third with nobody out in his one real chance, but Sanchez hit the ball well and took a walk. Luis Rengifo picked up the RBI on a sacrifice fly, and the Brewers would scrounge up their other run with back-to-back-to-back bunts to score a leadoff walk. Sanchez is up to a .273/.429/.758 line in his first 33 plate appearances this season. He’s certainly an interesting short-term catcher candidate with Christian Yelich’s injury opening up DH at-bats.

Yelich’s original injury designation with hamstring tightness, but imaging revealed the strain. The 34-year-old will reportedly be out until the middle of May and possibly longer. Greg Jones has called up to take Yelich’s spot on the roster, and Gary Sanchez should see most of the starts at DH for the time being.

Yelich was unable to continue after the fifth inning due to the injury, and manager Pat Murphy said after the game that there would likely be further bad news here. If Yelich lands on the IL, Jeferson Quero could be called up, allowing the Brewers to use Gary Sánchez at DH fairly regularly.

The Brewers would have been fine with Reese McGuire backing up Willson Contreras this year, but Sánchez was still sitting there when spring training started and was willing to take a paycut to sign on for a second stint in Milwaukee. He’s already hit three homers in just 13 at-bats, and with Andrew Vaughn out, he’ll probably continue to add playing first base against lefties to his less frequent catching duties.

Contreras will begin the second game of the doubleheader on the bench with Gary Sanchez earning the start behind the plate and hitting fifth.

Sánchez blistered a solo homer off Cole Sulser for his first homer of the 2026 campaign. The veteran backstop isn’t likely to see consistent playing time — at least not the kind that you’re looking for in a fantasy option — but there’s still plenty of pop in his right-handed bat when he does get into the game.

The Brewers were facing a four-run deficit before they came to bat in the first inning, then Sánchez got to work on that immediately, crushing a 387-foot (104.1 mph EV) two-run shot off of Anthony Kay. He also singled and struck out twice in the contest. Look for Sánchez to continue to see starts against left-handed pitching at a minimum — and he could see increased action at first base with Andrew Vaughn sidelined.

Vaughn is expected to miss 4–6 weeks after he undergoes hamate surgery on Monday. He suffered the injury during Thursday’s season-opening rout of the White Sox. The 27-year-old former third-overall pick hit .308 with nine homers in 64 games for Milwaukee last year to emerge as their everyday first baseman. It’s a significant loss for the Brewers since he’ll likely be sidelined until at least early May. It’ll be some combination of Gary Sánchez and Jake Bauers taking over at the cold corner with prospect Jeferson Quero coming up to fortify Milwaukee’s catching depth.

Vaughn made an early exit from Thursday’s one-sided win over the White Sox, which didn’t raise any alarm bells given the timing and score. However, it appears he’s dealing with some sort of hand issue, which is why prospect Jeferson Quero is being brought up from Triple-A Nashville to provide additional flexibility at first base. It’s a troubling development after Vaughn put together a strong spring but it doesn’t sound like he’s headed to the injured list. The positive news is that star backstop William Contreras is healthy. It’ll likely be Gary Sánchez seeing additional time at the cold corner if Vaughn needs to sit.

Quero was one of the highest-ranked catching prospects in baseball a couple years ago before missing significant development time due to shoulder surgery back in 2024. The 23-year-old backstop is likely up with the club due to an injury situation with either William Contreras or Gary Sánchez ahead of Saturday’s game against the White Sox. We’ll have updates on the developing situation as they unfold.