The Kansas City Royals changed up their rotation a bit on Monday, trading away outfielder Melky Cabrera to the San Francisco Giants for starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez. Believe it or not, this guy is an improvement considering the Royals owned the third-worst combined ERA in the American League in 2011.
Not coincidentally, this move makes room on the roster for hyped-up center field prospect Lorenzo Cain. To sweeten the deal, the Giants also threw in Ryan Verdugo... a Double-A pitcher no one has ever heard of.
Rebounding from a disaster of a year with the Atlanta Braves in 2010, Cabrera was a pretty big deal in his first season with the Royals, batting .305 with 44 doubles, 18 homers, 87 RBI, and 20 stolen bases.
Meanwhile, Sanchez wasn't all that impressive. The big lefty went 4-7 with a 4.26 ERA and 66 walks overs just 19 starts. During the injury-riddled season, Sanchez missed the entire month of July due to biceps tendinitis before missing the final month of the season with a left ankle sprain.
Royals general manager Dayton Moore had this to say regarding their new starter:
"His walks aren’t something we’re overly excited about, but at the same time he’s very young."
Ummm... he's about to be 29 next month. However, he does have a fairly recent no-hitter under his belt from July of 2009, when Juan Uribe screwed him on a perfect game by committing an error. Dick.
[San Francisco Chronicle]
2 comments:
I'm excited to see Sanchez in a Royals uni - your right it IS an upgrade!
Jonathan Sanchez IS NOT AN UPGRADE Jeff.
Post a Comment