Padres claim Gary Sánchez off waivers, per source: Why San Diego is taking a

The San Diego Padres claimed catcher Gary Sánchez off waivers Monday, a team source confirmed to The Athletic. Here’s what you need to know:

• This is Sánchez’s third organization since April 1.
• The Mets designated Sánchez for assignment on May 25. Sánchez, in his first season with the Mets, had one RBI and zero home runs through just three games played.
• Sánchez has 2,357 career at-bats, slashing .225/.311/.466 with 154 home runs and 402 RBIs.

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

Why the Padres are taking a chance on Sánchez

Frankly, they don’t have much to lose. According to FanGraphs, Padres catchers have combined for a full win below replacement, the lowest total among all 30 teams. Starter Austin Nola has been one of the worst hitters in the majors, rookie Brett Sullivan hasn’t fared much better at the plate and Luis Campusano isn’t close to returning after undergoing thumb surgery this month.

Sánchez is unlikely to solve the Padres’ seemingly perennial void at catcher; he went unsigned all of last offseason, and the 30-year-old is now on his third organization since April 1. But the Padres are in dire need of offensive help, and he might represent at least a slight upgrade over what San Diego has received from its catchers. Sánchez has a career .777 on-base plus slugging percentage, though he has fallen a long way from his days as a 30-homer hitter. In 128 games last season with Minnesota, he hit .205 with 16 home runs. — Lin

How Sánchez’s addition might affect the roster

The Padres plan to option either Nola or Sullivan to Triple A, with a final decision likely coming Tuesday. That would clear a spot for Sánchez, who is scheduled to join the team in time for Tuesday night’s series opener at LoanDepot Park. The Padres might not want to throw Sánchez behind the plate immediately, but they do want to start this experiment soon — the newcomer should get at least one start during the Marlins series.

Sánchez comes with a long-established reputation as a bat-first catcher and an iffy defender, and he’ll have to learn a new pitching staff on the fly. But if he supplies even marginally better offense than Nola and Sullivan, he will increase his chances of sticking. If not, he could soon find himself a free agent again, and the Padres will be left still grasping for answers to their most glaring positional weakness. — Lin

Evaluating Sánchez’s time with the Mets

The Mets viewed Sánchez as a low-risk, potentially high-reward kind of player worth trying while two of their catchers were sidelined. Tomas Nido’s return and Francisco Alvarez’s breakout made Sánchez expendable. While with the Mets, Sánchez didn’t play much, but also didn’t show much when he did.

In his last start, he had a passed ball and failed to catch a pop up in foul territory. However, he did show a decent amount of power in his time at Triple A for the Mets and posted numbers that looked much better than his time in the