The Rays have claimed right-hander Angel Sanchez off waivers from the Marlins, tweets Mark Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The Marlins have announced that the move will clear a 40-man roster spot for Rafael Furcal to be activated from the DL and reinstated to the big league roster. Sanchez will head to Double-A Montgomery for the Rays.
Sanchez, not to be confused with the infielder of the same name who inked a minor league deal with the Dodgers earlier today, is a 24-year-old right-hander out of the Dominican Republic. He is one of three pitchers that the Marlins acquired from the Dodgers in exchange for Ricky Nolasco and cash last season (the roughly $6MM of salary relief was the bigger concern for Miami in that transaction). In 12 starts at Double-A Jacksonville this season, Sanchez posted a 6.88 ERA with 5.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in 52 1/3 innings.
Furcal, who signed a one-year Major League deal with the Fish this offseason, will bat leadoff in tonight’s game for the Marlins — his first big league action since 2012 with the Cardinals. He batted .264/.325/.346 in 531 plate appearances for St. Louis that season. A three-time All-Star and former NL Rookie of the Year (2000), Furcal is a career .281/.346/.403 hitter in parts of 13 Major League seasons with the Braves, Dodgers and Cardinals.
