Austin Allen, Photo by Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Mets announced on Tuesday that they have signed infielder Yolmer Sanchez and catcher Austin Allen both to minor league contracts with an invite to major league spring training in Port St. Lucie.
Sánchez is a 33-year third-baseman from Maracay, Venezuela. Since beginning his professional career in 2009 he has spent time with the Chicago White Sox organization (2009-2019; August 2020), San Francisco Giants (January – August 2020), Baltimore Orioles (2020-2021), Atlanta Braves (2021), Boston Red Sox & New York Mets (both in 2022), and most recently the Atlanta Braves organization in 2023.
Most of Sánchez’s career has been spent at the minor league level. He made his major league debut in 2014 with the White Sox, but has since bounced around between the major and minor leagues.
Sánchez only spent a brief two-month stint with the Mets’ organization in 2022 with Triple-A Syracuse, where he slashed .244/.355/.333 with an .688 OPS. He had four doubles, a home run, and drove in seven RBIs during those couple of months.
Sánchez spent the 2023 season with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate, the Gwinnett Stripers, where he batted .236/.381/.350 with an .731 OPS. He hit 15 doubles, two triples, eight home runs, drove in 62 RBIs, and brought in 55 runs scored.
Sánchez’s major league experience is in short spurts over the course of eight seasons with the White Sox, Red Sox, and Mets. He has a career .243/.299/.355 hitting line in 674 major league games.
Sánchez also won a gold glove at second base with the White Sox in 2017.
His last major league appearance was in 2022 with the Mets. He played in three games with the organization.
Allen, who the Mets signed on his 30th birthday, is a catcher from St. Louis, Missouri. He was a fourth round draft pick by the San Diego Padres in the 2015 MLB draft out of Florida Tech. While most of his career has also been spent at the minor league level, the 6’2”, 219lb catcher made his major league debut in 2019 with the Oakland Athletics.
Allen has spent time with Padres, Athletics, Cardinals, and the Miami Marlins organizations.
Allen spent the 2023 season with the Marlins’ Triple-A affiliate, the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. He batted .225/.311/.491 with an .802 OPS. Allen smashed 15 doubles, one triple, and 23 home runs while driving in 67 RBIs with 49 runs scored and walked 36 times.
The Mets’ newest catcher has also spent short stints in the major leagues over parts of four seasons, where he has just an OPS of .540 across 127 plate appearances. He played in a total of 57 games between the Padres in (2019) and the Athletics (2020 to 2022).
Although mainly a catcher, Allen has experience playing first base and could be a versatile piece for the Mets.
Both Sanchez and Allen will report to Port St. Lucie next month for major league spring training.
