The Yankees re-signed right-handed pitcher Humberto Sanchez to a minor league deal, according to this press release on the site for the Scranton Times-Tribune. He was released by the Yankees on April 25th to make room for Mark Melancon. Sanchez, 25, was assigned to AA Trenton and placed on their disabled list.
Yankees Release Humberto Sanchez
According to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch, the Yankees have released right-hander Humberto Sanchez.
The move opened a spot on the 40-man roster for right-hander Mark Melancon. Sanchez, 25, was unable to make the big league roster this spring after developing forearm tightness early on. He pitched two innings for the Yankees in 2008, allowing one earned run.
Sanchez was traded from the Tigers to the Yanks back in 2006 as part of a package for Gary Sheffield. He underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2007 and hasn't been healthy since. We'd expect another organization to pick him up and give him a shot at Triple-A.
Odds and Ends: Bedard, Hudson, Inoa, Varitek
Let’s dig through today’s links.
- Cork Gaines takes a look at the Rays most likely to be traded.
- According to Ken Davidoff, the Rockies have been scouting Yankees pitching prospect Humberto Sanchez. He’d be a more reasonable return for Brian Fuentes.
- Erik Bedard’s MRI came out clean, but it’s still hard to see him in a big league game before August.
- Dan Haren used to follow every trade rumor on the Internet, but Justin Duchscherer doesn’t monitor the hot stove buzz.
- Shane Victorino is aware of the rumors, but wants to stay in Philly.
- With Emilio Bonifacio gone, Scott Bordow thinks the D’Backs should try to sign Orlando Hudson. Bordow would only offer $8MM a year though.
- Paul Hoynes looks at the Indians’ areas of need for the offseason.
- Peter Abraham doesn’t expect the Yankees to pursue a catcher.
- Melissa Segura of SI.com writes about Michael Inoa’s buscon.
- Patrick Newman profiles Kenshin Kawakami, who should be quite popular this winter.
- Buster Olney expects Jason Varitek to feel a ripple effect from Jorge Posada’s injury. His sources expect the Red Sox to offer Varitek one or two years at $6-8MM per.
- MLB.com is looking for a fan to guest host their show The Dish.
Tigers Acquire Gary Sheffield
Jon Heyman reports that the Tigers have acquired Gary Sheffield for Humberto Sanchez and two Class A pitchers, Kevin Whelan and Anthony Claggett.
It’s a superb deal for New York at first glance, as Sanchez has great stuff and profiles as at least a middle-rotation starter for years to come. Baseball Prospectus’s Kevin Goldstein ranked Sanchez as the 11th best right-handed starting prospect in the game, holding him back only because of elbow concerns. The Yankees should have young guys comprising 60% of their rotation by the end of ’07.
And Whelan, if things break right, could be setting up Mariano Rivera by 2008. The 23 year-old throws four different fastballs.
That’s a lot to give up for Sheff, but credit the Tigers for making a win-now move for the patient slugger they needed. According to Heyman, "the Tigers will extend Sheffield’s contract for two years beyond the one year and $13 million remaining."
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Trade Rumor Roundup: 6 Days Left
What’s new in the world of trade rumors?
It wasn’t just Humberto Sanchez missing a start – Tigers prospect Jair Jurrjens is skipping two starts because of a stiff neck. While it certainly seems that recent trade winds could be at play here, it may just be a case of bad luck for Detroit. Both players can still be dealt despite the minor injuries.
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A few more nuggets concerning the White Sox’s efforts to acquire Alfonso Soriano surfaced in newspapers today. Phil Rogers notes sources indicating that Scott Podsednik, and not Brian Anderson, would be part of a package for Soriano. In addition, Sam Borden of the New York Daily News suggests that Jim Bowden requested Double A pitcher Lance Broadway but was rebuffed.
Didn’t get to hear Tim Purpura on the radio yesterday personally, but it seems he may have inadvertently indicated that Willy Taveras is not in the team’s future center field plans. I imagine plenty of teams would have interest in Taveras despite his .280/.319/.331 line in 905 career ABs. On the plus side, Taveras truly is an excellent defender according to The Fielding Bible. They actually think he deserved the Gold Glove last year over Jim Edmonds.
Harold Reynolds got the axe from ESPN today; Deadspin has the thirdhand info.
Dayton Moore did well with reliever Elmer Dessens in a trade back to the Dodgers.
Many thanks to all those who visited MLBTradeRumors.com yesterday. June 24th was our best-ever day for traffic, beating out December 8th. Keep on comin’ back for all the latest trade rumors; I love writing about this stuff.
Soriano, Sanchez, Meche: Much Ado About Nothing
Seems that a couple of the more interesting rumors to come up today have proven to be nothing at all.
The first was ESPN’s rumor that Brandon McCarthy would be included in a Soriano to the White Sox deal, which was to be extremely close. It seems that the deal has fallen through at least in the short term, and Kenny Williams stated publicly that neither McCarthy nor Josh Fields will be traded. Still in the stockpile: Brian Anderson, Ryan Sweeney, Jerry Owens, Sean Tracey, Lance Broadway, Casey Rogowski, and Charlie Haeger.
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It has also been noted that Humberto Sanchez missed his start tonight due to a tender elbow. Not exactly a way to pump up a prospect’s value, so the Tigers may have to deal other prospects. They’ve still got Brent Clevlen, Jordan Tata, and Jair Jurrjens, among others. Still, Sanchez seems like the one available trading chip who could help bring a star player to Detroit.
Also, we’re unclear at this point whether the rumored ESPN Radio report of a completed Aaron Heilman for Gil Meche trade is legit. Indications are that it was a hoax. Sorry ’bout that. Here’s MetsBlog’s take on this (non)rumor.
Humberto Sanchez Scratched
Looks like Tigers prospect Humberto Sanchez has been scratched from tonight’s start for the Mud Hens.
Maybe it really is this vague "health reason," or maybe a deal is in the works. According to the Boston Globe a few days ago, Sanchez was being scouted by the Nationals, Twins, Diamondbacks, and Pirates last Wednesday.
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Trade Rumor Roundup: 8 Days Left
To begin with, this just isn’t true. With the Kearns deal and probably Soriano trade, the 2006 deadline just can’t be classified as a dud. That honor belongs to 2005 for sure. The trading action never matches the buildup, but this year’s still a good one.
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Read Ken Rosenthal’s latest. The White Sox are in the Soriano game, the Rangers have interest in Luis Gonzalez, the Braves could add another reliever, Julio Lugo still might become a Blue Jay, and the Brewers look like sellers. In my opinion, some Brewers besides Carlos Lee that could be unloaded: Geoff Jenkins, Corey Koskie, Brady Clark, and Dan Kolb. Koskie will need to recover quickly from his concussion, however.
Still hearing that the Cubs like Willy Taveras, which would definitely fit their m.o. of players who don’t get on base. Phil Rogers also mentions that Seattle’s Rafael Soriano is being asked about. It would be surprising to see the Mariners deal that kind of young talent.
Tons of great rumors coming from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. He’s got a rundown of the Red Sox, all sorts of teams scouting Humberto Sanchez, and more.
Buster Olney mentioned in his blog today that the Astros are among various teams scouting Elmer Dessens. The Astros are also looking at Damaso Marte.
Unfounded rumor department: Could the Dodgers be after Aramis Ramirez? Ramirez has picked a fantastic time to heat up, and L.A. has some top shelf young talent…is there anywhere Julio Lugo could go besides Toronto? How about the Rockies?
Nats’ Soriano Demands Revealed
According to Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press, the Nationals want three good prospects in return for Alfonso Soriano. As much as critics panned it, you have to admit that Jim Bowden is sitting pretty after his Wilkerson/Soriano deal.
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23 year-old Tigers prospect Humberto Sanchez would apparently be the centerpiece of the deal. Sanchez dominated Double A for 11 starts this year before earning a promotion. Sanchez has been far more hittable in Triple A, and his strikeout rate slipped quite a bit. Still, it was an aggressive promotion. Sanchez’s stuff is described as "a shade behind Verlander’s and Zumaya’s" when he’s at his best, according to Baseball America. They project him as a "solid, middle of the rotation starter."
Brent Clevlen was actually ranked higher than Sanchez coming into this season. The 23 year-old rightfielder has good raw power but is hitting just .223/.303/.343 in 89 Double A games. Jair Jurrjens of Curacao is just 20 years old. He was promoted to Double A in June after 12 dominant starts, and his success has with a 2.78 ERA despite a 1.39 WHIP in 32 innings.
We know that the Angels are unlikely to part with their big-name prospects. The Yankees will need to surrender Philip Hughes and more. The Mariners are a dark horse, with players like Adam Jones, Chris Snelling, and Rafael Soriano likely to be desired.
