Around the Horn: Phenom fills backstop role

With the start of Spring Training approaching, anticipation is building for the 2017 season. MLB.com will go around the horn to break down each area of the Yankees’ roster, and as Casey Stengel once said, “You’ve got to have a catcher or you’re going to have a lot of passed balls.”

Far be it for us to argue with the Ol’ Perfesser, so we begin with the men behind the plate.

Gary Sanchez spent this past Opening Day in the dugout of the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, having been shipped back to the Minors for more seasoning after producing just two hits in a disappointing camp bid to serve as a big league backup. What a difference a year makes.

Sanchez will return to the George M. Steinbrenner Field complex this spring as the unquestioned starting catcher, carrying sky-high expectations following an amazing surge that saw the slugger belt 20 homers with 42 RBIs in 53 games to finish second to the Tigers’ Michael Fulmer for the American League Rookie of the Year Award.

“I want to keep doing what I’ve been doing here, which is play hard and give my all,” Sanchez said through an interpreter. “That’s the way I look forward to next year. You want to work hard, and you want to come back ready to play.”

The Yankees made their intentions clear at the tail end of the season, when general manager Brian Cashman said that the starting catcher job had already become Sanchez’s to lose. Six weeks later, Brian McCann was traded to the Astros for a pair of prospects, leaving no doubt that Sanchez …

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