How Yankees’ Gary Sanchez is quietly trying to reconnect with Sonny Gray

Yankees starter Sonny Gray doesn’t want to throw to Gary Sanchez, but Sanchez is trying to learn from Gray’s connection with Austin Romine.

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NEW YORK — Who knows when Gary Sanchez will catch Sonny Gray next.  At some point, though, it’s going to happen. And it might be a necessity for the Yankees in the playoffs — especially if manager Aaron Boone wants to use his strongest lineup.

So Sanchez has been trying to better understand Gray from not behind the plate, but the dugout.

“Just because I’m not catching doesn’t mean I’m not learning something that might help me in the future with him,” he said recently, via team translator Marlon Abreu.

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For the fourth straight outing, Gray will most likely pair with backup Austin Romine, who has become his personal catcher at his request, when the Yankees face the A’s at Yankee Stadium on Friday night.

Sanchez said he will be watching how Gray and Romine interact.

“I am paying attention to the games,” Sanchez said. “I’m seeing how he’s pitching, the tempo they’re using.”

Sanchez added that he’s seen a different Gray with his backup catching him.

“Definitely,” Sanchez said. “He’s attacking the hitters. He’s throwing more strikes. Less bases on balls. If you walk too many people, you put yourself in a tough situation where a single, and they can score the run, as we all know. But I think that’s the main difference.”

Sanchez added that Gray has moved away from a fastball that had more movement to a straight heater.

Gray has said he wants Romine to catch him over Sanchez, a 2017 All-Star, because he has a better connection with the backup.

“I trust that guy completely, knowing whatever he puts down, shake your head yes and throw it with conviction,” Gray said Saturday.

No other Yankees pitchers have expressed concern over throwing to Sanchez, who as of Thursday was tied for the league lead in passed balls with the White Sox’s Omar Narvaez with six. Nobody else had five.

Sanchez tied for the league lead in passed balls with 13 in 2017 and it was such a big problem that then-manager Joe Girardi benched him for two games in the summer over it and Sanchez spent the offseason trying to lose weight and improve his flexibility to get better at blocking.

With Romine behind the plate, Gray has gone six innings and given up two runs in each of his last two starts.

Romine caught three of Gray’s first five starts. Over the span, Gray was terrible, posting a 7.71 ERA. He’s since dropped it to 6.00.

Sanchez said he’s fine with Gray pitching to Romine if it’s what’s best for the Yankees. Still, he wants to figure out how to get on the same Romine is with Gray. Sanchez added that he doesn’t think it will be a problem when he finally has to catch Gray, though this time apart will make things more difficult.

“Of course, when you go for a long time without catching somebody, it’s hard to catch that person,” Sanchez said.

He added, “I think it’s just about getting ready to catch him. It won’t be a problem.”

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.