The Rays have claimed first baseman Jerry Sands off waivers from the Pirates, according to Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune (on Twitter). Sands was designated for assignment 10 days ago, along with right-hander Ryan Reid, in order to clear room on the Bucs' 40-man roster for Clint Barmes and Edinson Volquez. Reid was claimed by the Mets earlier this afternoon.
Sands, who turned 26 at the end of the season, batted just .207/.311/.329 with seven home runs in 106 games (397 PAs) at the Triple-A level this season. Formerly with the Dodgers, Sands was one of the players in the Adrian Gonzalez/Carl Crawford/Josh Beckett blockbuster of August 2012. The Red Sox included him in another notable trade last offseason, as he was one of the pieces acquired by Pittsburgh in the ill-fated (for Boston) trade that sent Mark Melancon to Pittsburgh and Joel Hanrahan to Boston.
In his minor league career, Sands is a .276/.366/.526 hitter with 128 homers in 2433 plate appearances. He'll provide the Rays with some depth at first base, though GM Andrew Friedman hopes to have that position solidified for the next three seasons now that he's inked James Loney to a $21MM pact.
Don’t forget Nick Punto’s role in that blockbuster trade.
Just last summer Sands was suppose to be the next Matt Holliday.
Morosi was a little off with that. The Pirates liked the relief pitchers they got from Boston though. Pimentel throws some serious heat and Melancon made the allstar game.
Nothing but the best of luck from a Red Sox fan to Stolmy
Very good player
He is a boom or bust player with hit or miss plate discipline. He will take walks, but he is not going to hit for a good average.
Yeah? Thanks, I was hoping someone from Dodgerland would comment and share. I have to admit I’d never heard of this guy and the stats aren’t overwhelming. But I know they’re not the only good measure. I’m never one to doubt the Rays ability to pick good talent so I’ll wait and see. This is a curious pickup though with Belnome already at Durham but Vince can play multiple IF positions. Again, thanks Dodgerfan.
ah, the RH/LH platoon team so many of us Dodger fans wanted to see at 1B in 2011…
I was going to chime in and say, this is a platoon hitter right here. Not anything defensively, but a good platoon hitter if that’s what you need.
Heck in 2011 Dodgers fans were claiming Sands was the top prospect in MLB.. How fast to players fall when they fail to perform… Its quite amazing.. Just a few short years ago Cubs fans were claiming Ronnie Cedeno as a future all star SS..
Hopefully he doesnt have to rely on his teaching gig anymore and can make it to the big leagues to stay this time. Nice guy.
He’s a AAA player In my opinion. Considering he is already 26 and is such a homer or nothing kind of guy I don’t see much success.
Jerry Sands used to be a fairly highly regarded prospect for the dodgers if I remember correctly. Rays have a good track record or resurrecting talent in their system. Could be one to follow.
Another AAAA player the Rays could use for depth.
those aaa numbers look good i can see him going to japan