What happens at catcher and DH for the Brewers if Gary Sanchez deal falls through?

Pitchers and catchers have been present at Milwaukee Brewers spring training for just under a week now after reporting last Wednesday. Since that day, however, one face has been conspicuously absent.

Gary Sanchez, who reportedly had agreed to a deal with the Brewers 12 days ago now was nowhere to be seen. The contract still hasn't been finalized and formally announced by the team and no one, including MLB insiders, seem to have any idea what the hold up is.

So far, there is no indication that the deal won't still eventually happen. Perhaps something showed up on the physical and terms are being reworked. But there's also not a zero percent chance that things fall through either, and in that case, what does that mean for the Brewers roster, especially at two positions?

What happens at catcher and DH for the Brewers if the Gary Sanchez deal falls through?

Prior to the potential deal for Sanchez it felt like the direction for the catcher position was pretty clear. William Contreras would be the starter, free agent signee Eric Haase had the inside track on being the backup, and top catching prospect Jeferson Quero, baring a crazy performance in the spring, was likely to start in the minors with a Triple-A debut.

If Sanchez's deal never comes to fruition, that's probably what the catching situation reverts back to for the Brewers. But that also removes a lot of potential roster flexibility that Milwaukee might have had with Sanchez in the fold.

There is a real scenario where Sanchez and Haase both make the Opening Day roster. While carrying three catchers would be rare for the Brewers, doing so would allow them to more easily rotate Contreras to DH here and there, saving some of the wear and tear on his body. Carrying just Contreras and Haase would make it much harder to do that as any injury to Haase would put the lineup in quite a pickle.

The bigger implication of a failed Sanchez deal though, to me, comes at the DH position. While there was never any stated guarantee that the veteran was going to be worked into the mix at that position, considering the Brewers' lack of run production at DH in the two years since it became a permanent fixture in the NL and Sanchez's history of run production in his career, it sure would make sense.

Without Sanchez getting reps at DH, and potentially then Contreras as well, the Brewers would probably have to go back to a DH-by-committee approach. Christian Yelich, Jake Bauers, Joey Wiemer, and even Jackson Chourio would all be players who could get worked into that equation.

A Sanchez deal would mean plenty of positives for the Brewers lineup in 2024. Let's hope things get resolved relatively soon and this weird odyssey finally comes to an end.