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Ricardo Sanchez

White Sox Sign Ricardo Sánchez To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox have signed left-hander Ricardo Sánchez to a minor league deal, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com.

Sánchez, 26 in April, has already bounced around a fair bit in his career. He started with the Angels but has since been traded to the Braves, then to the Mariners and claimed off waivers by the Cardinals.

That latter transaction came in February of 2020, which proved to be a rollercoaster of a year for Sánchez. After the opening of the season was delayed by COVID-19, Sánchez tested positive for the virus in July. He was later cleared to return to action and was recalled, making his MLB debut in August. He tossed 5 1/3 innings over three appearances with a 6.75 ERA. Unfortunately, he went to the injured list later in the season due to pain in his throwing elbow and was outrighted off the roster at season’s end.

That elbow pain led to Tommy John surgery for Sánchez in October of 2020, wiping out his entire 2021 season. He was able to return to the mound last year, pitching in Triple-A for both the Phillies and the Tigers. His return from that missed season didn’t go especially well, as he posted a 4.95 ERA in 116 1/3 innings over 26 starts. His 19.8% strikeout rate was subpar but he got grounders on roughly half the balls in play and his 7.9% walk rate was solid. It’s possible he deserved better than that ERA suggests, as his 67.8% strand rate on the year was on the unlucky side, leading to a 4.45 FIP.

Sánchez is still young and was identified as an intriguing prospect as a teenager. Baseball America considered him the #3 prospect in the Angels’ system going into 2015. Many years have passed since then but the southpaw threw 146 Double-A innings in 2019 with a 4.44 ERA and 3.40 FIP. After two mostly lost seasons, he didn’t quite match that production in 2022, but perhaps he will find better results now that he’s further removed from his lengthy absence.

For the White Sox, starting depth is a notable area of the club’s overall outlook. They should have a strong front four in Dylan Cease, Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn and Michael Kopech, but things get a little murky after that. They signed Mike Clevinger in the offseason to a one-year deal, though it’s possible he could be facing a suspension at some point since he’s under investigation for domestic violence allegations. Beyond that group, the club’s depth options on the 40-man roster include Davis Martin, Jonathan Stiever, A.J. Alexy and Jimmy Lambert. That’s a fairly inexperienced group at the MLB level, with none of them having reached 65 innings yet in their respective careers.

Sánchez will give the club a bit of starting depth without taking up a roster spot. If he’s able to earn his way back on at some point, he has less than a year of service time but he is out of options, meaning he wouldn’t be able to be sent back down to the minors without first being exposed to waivers.

Tigers Acquire Ricardo Sanchez From Phillies

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The Tigers and Phillies announced a minor league trade, with left-hander Ricardo Sanchez heading to Detroit in exchange for cash considerations.  Because Sanchez has played the entire season on a minor league contract without spending any time on Philadelphia’s big league roster or big league injured list, he was eligible to be dealt after the August 2 trade deadline.

[Related: How to Acquire Players after the Trade Deadline]

Sanchez has been assigned to Triple-A, but given how injuries have ravaged the Tigers’ pitching staff to an almost absurd extent, it might not be long before Sanchez gets his second crack in the big leagues.  Sanchez made his MLB debut in 2020, throwing 5 1/3 innings over three games with the Cardinals.  The southpaw remained in the St. Louis organization until this past March, when he was released and then quickly pivoted to a new minors deal with Philadelphia.

Injuries kept Sanchez off the mound entirely in 2021, but he returned to post a 4.79 ERA over 92 innings with the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate.  Never a big strikeout pitcher during his eight seasons in the pros, Sanchez is inducing grounders roughly half the time, but a .337 BABIP hasn’t helped Sanchez keep runs off the board.

Originally signed as an international free agent by the Angels in 2013, Sanchez will now head to his sixth different Major League organization.  Sanchez is only 25, so it’s perhaps inaccurate to say that the Tigers only view him as a shorter-term option, but Detroit is likely just looking for all of the depth it can find given the team’s lack of healthy arms.

Cardinals Release Ricardo Sanchez, Jesus Cruz

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The Cardinals have released left-hander Ricardo Sanchez and right-hander Jesus Cruz.  Neither hurler pitched in the majors in 2021, as Sanchez was recovering from Tommy John surgery and Cruz spent the season at the Cards’ alternate training camp in April and then with Triple-A Memphis.

Both pitchers made their MLB debuts in 2020, with Sanchez getting a slightly longer look in the Show.  Sanchez pitched 5 1/3 innings over three appearances with St. Louis, while Cruz was up in pure “cup of coffee” form with one inning of work in a single game.

Sanchez’s debut season was also set back by a positive COVID-19 diagnosis, as he was one of many Cardinals players caught up in an outbreak that ravaged the roster.  The southpaw was also sidelined by elbow problems in August that eventually resulted in the TJ procedure in October 2020.  Going by the normal 12-15 month Tommy John recovery timeline, Sanchez should be ready to pitch again, though it isn’t known if he experienced any setbacks in his rehab.

Sanchez is a veteran of seven pro seasons, mostly spent in the Braves’ farm system.  The left-hander has a 4.52 ERA over 517 1/3 career innings in the minors, though he had gradually improved the control issues that plagued him in his early days.

Cruz was an international signing for the Cardinals in the 2017-18 July 2 class, spending some time in the Mexican League before joining the Cards organization.  Cruz posted a 3.90 ERA over 210 minor league innings, amassing a strong 29.86% strikeout rate, but with a high 13.38% walk rate.  Troublingly, Cruz’s control issues have gotten worse as he has worked his way up the minor league ladder.

Minor MLB Transactions: 10/30/20

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Rounding up some minor moves around the game:

  • Royals left-hander Mike Montgomery and right-hander Kevin McCarthy cleared outright waivers and have elected free agency, reports Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com (Twitter link). Montgomery, 31, was limited to 5.1 innings in 2020 due to a lat injury, derailing his chance of cementing himself in the Kansas City rotation. McCarthy was an oft-used bullpen piece in 2019 but only got into five games last season. Additionally, Kansas City claimed righty Carlos Sanabria off waivers from the Astros, per Flanagan (Twitter link). The 23-year-old reliever performed well in the high minors in 2019 and made his MLB debut in this year.
  • The Twins claimed right-hander Ian Gibaut off waivers from the Rangers, per an announcement from Texas. The 26-year-old pitched to just a 6.57 ERA in 12.1 innings this year but was once a well-regarded relief prospect. He comes with one option year remaining. Fellow Texas righty Luke Farrell cleared outright waivers.
  • The Twins also claimed left-hander Brandon Waddell off waivers from the Pirates, per Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com (Twitter link). Additionally, Pirates’ catchers John Ryan Murphy and Luke Maile, utilityman Kevin Kramer, right-hander Yacksel Rios and outfielder Jason Martin all cleared outright waivers, per an announcement from Pittsburgh.
  • The Mets claimed right-hander Nick Tropeano off waivers from the Pirates, per an announcement from Pittsburgh. The 30-year-old pitched in seven games with a 1.15 ERA for the Pirates in 2020. He’s projected for a salary just under $1MM in arbitration.
  • The Nationals announced they’ve selected the contract of right-hander Steven Fuentes. The 23-year-old pitched to a 2.69 ERA/2.24 FIP in 63.2 Double-A innings in 2019 and would’ve been eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter. Baseball America ranks Fuentes the #27 prospect in the Washington system.
  • The Cubs announced that they have claimed infielder Max Schrock via waivers from the rival Cardinals. Chicago also outrighted lefty Rex Brothers to Triple-A Iowa. Schrock picked up just 17 plate appearances for St. Louis in 2020 and collected three hits (two singles and a homer). Brothers, 32, threw only 3.1 innings with the Cubs and allowed three earned runs.
  • Speaking of the Cardinals, they announced outright assignments for righty Nabil Crismatt and lefty Ricardo Sanchez. Crismatt was successful for the Cardinals in 2020, notching 8.1 frames of three-run ball with eight strikeouts and one walk. Sanchez had some difficulty across 5.1 innings, though, as he gave up four earned runs and issued five walks.

Cardinals Make Several Roster Moves

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The Cardinals have made four call-ups from their alternate training site, as left-hander Rob Kaminsky, first baseman John Nogowski, and right-handers Ryan Meisinger and Seth Elledge are all joining the active roster.  They will take the roster spots left open by infielder Max Schrock and righties Daniel Ponce de Leon and Junior Fernandez, who are all headed to the alternate site.  In addition, left-hander Ricardo Sanchez has been placed on the 10-day injured list due to pain in his throwing elbow.

Ponce de Leon, Fernandez, Sanchez, and even Schrock (in mop-up duty) pitched in last night’s 14-2 loss to the Indians.  Ponce de Leon started and lasted only two-thirds of an inning, allowing four runs on four walks and two hits.

This demotion won’t last long, as Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Ponce De Leon will be back as the 29th man for next weekend’s doubleheader against the Cubs.  As for Ponce De Leon’s normal starting spot, however, Johan Oviedo will now take a regular turn in the rotation.  Oviedo has made two starts already for the Cards this season, looking solid in posting a 3.60 ERA over 10 innings.

Sanchez’s ominous-sounding injury continues what has already been a difficult year for the 23-year-old, as he missed two weeks in July recovering from a COVID-19 diagnosis.  The southpaw did make his big league debut this season, posting a 6.75 ERA over 5 1/3 IP (three games).

COVID News & Notes: Freeman, Paredes, Cardinals

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COVID-19 has taken its toll on the baseball world, with Freddie Freeman being one of the most prominent names to test positive for the virus.  Now recovered and back at the Braves’ camp, Freeman told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Gabriel Burns and other reporters about his experience, which included a week of symptoms that even left Freeman fearful for his life on the evening of July 3 when he ran a fever of 104.5 degrees.  “I said a little prayer that night.  I’ve never been that hot before.  My body was really, really hot,” Freeman explained.  “So I said, ’Please don’t take me.’  I wasn’t ready.  It got a little worrisome that night for me.”

Fortunately, Freeman’s decreased to 101 degrees the following morning, and three days of fever gave way to four days where “it almost felt like I had a sinus problem.  I’d stand up, get dizzy and I’d have to sit back down.”  After that, however, Freeman went nine days without any other symptoms.  After getting word yesterday that he had tested negative on two consecutive coronavirus tests, Freeman received full clearance at a local hospital and was at training camp that same afternoon.  While “we’re going to take it day by day” in terms of getting into game shape, Freeman will try to pack as much work as possible over what remains of training camp: “That’s the whole goal, for me to be ready Opening Day.”

Some more on other pending and cleared COVID-19 cases from around baseball…

  • A positive coronavirus test delayed Isaac Paredes’ arrival at the Tigers’ camp until yesterday, but the prospect is now feeling healthy, he told MLB.com’s Jason Beck.  Paredes wasn’t asymptomatic, though he was feeling better even before traveling to the United States from his home in Mexico.  One of the top prospects in Detroit’s farm system, Paredes is only 21 years old and has yet to play any Triple-A ball, though he could have potentially been a candidate for the Tigers’ Opening Day roster had he been healthy.  Instead, Paredes will be assigned to the taxi squad and is “ready and willing to do whatever the staff and the manager want me to do.  I’m ready to play whatever position they want me to.“
  • The Cardinals provided updates on some of their COVID-positive players (MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold were among those to report the news.)  Left-handers Genesis Cabrera and Ricardo Sanchez were both cleared to participate in training, and Cabrera was at Busch Stadium today to play catch while Sanchez will join the Cards’ taxi squad at their minor league training site.  Alex Reyes, meanwhile, confirmed that his delayed arrival to training camp was indeed due to the coronavirus, though Reyes was asymptomatic.  Once one of baseball’s top pitching prospects, Reyes has been limited to only seven MLB innings over the last three seasons due to various injuries, so the Cardinals weren’t likely to rush him to the Opening Day roster even had he been healthy.  It isn’t out of the question that Reyes will emerge at some point in the 2020 season as a hard-throwing relief option.

Latest On Cardinals, COVID-19

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TODAY: Cabrera, Sanchez, and Montero have all tested positive for a second time, manager Mike Shildt told reporters (including Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch).  As such, the trio will continue to remain in quarantine protocol, though all three are asymptomatic.

JULY 5: The Cardinals revealed today that minor leaguer Elehuris Montero has also tested positive for the coronavirus. Montero is the team’s third positive test, following Cabrera and Sanchez yesterday. The Cardinals are still awaiting the results of more tests. Montero, 21, was added to St. Louis’s 60-man player pool at the start of the month. One of the most promising prospects in the organization, he would surely benefit from reps in a big-league environment, especially after a disappointing season at Double-A last year.

JULY 4: Left-handers Genesis Cabrera and Ricardo Sanchez have both tested positive for COVID-19, the Cardinals announced this afternoon.  As detailed by MLB.com’s Anne Rogers and other reporters, Cabrera and Sanchez are each currently in quarantine, and both pitchers are asymptomatic.

Cabrera and Sanchez both tested positive during the club’s initial round of intake testing as players arrived in St. Louis for training camp.  They will now remain isolated for a two-week period, and will then have to be symptom-free and deliver negatives on two separate COVID-19 tests before returning to training.

Cabrera was looking to win a job in the Cards’ bullpen in the wake of his 2019 rookie season.  The southpaw’s first taste of the big leagues resulted in a 4.87 ERA, 1.73 K/BB rate, and 8.4 K/9 in 20 1/3 innings, with Cabrera starting his first two games and then working in relief during his 11 other appearances.  Acquired from the Rays in July 2018 as part of the return for Tommy Pham, Cabrera has mostly worked as a starter in the minor leagues, though he has yet to look effective even at the Triple-A level.  Cabrera’s live arm (96.3mph fastball in 2019) could make him a reliever over the long term, and while St. Louis has a number of other starters ahead of him on the depth chart, Cabrera could get the odd spot start or opener assignment depending on how the Cardinals manage their rotation in the short season.

Sanchez just joined the Cards in February after being claimed off waivers from the Mariners.  The 23-year-old has yet to reach Triple-A ball, topping out with a 4.33 ERA over 203 2/3 innings at Double-A (with the Seattle and Atlanta affiliates) in 2018-19.

Cardinals Claim Ricardo Sanchez

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The Cardinals have claimed left-hander Ricardo Sanchez off waivers from the Mariners, as announced by both teams.  Infielder Ramon Urias was designated for assignment by St. Louis to create a 40-man roster spot for Sanchez.

Sanchez hit the waiver wire last week, when he was DFA’ed by the Mariners to make roster room for Yoshihisa Hirano.  The southpaw has spent four of his six pro seasons in the Braves organization, sandwiched between his debut season with the Angels’ rookie ball affiliate in 2014 and a 2019 season spent with the Mariners’ Double-A club.

Sanchez has an unimpressive 4.52 ERA over 517 1/3 innings, though with some solid peripheral numbers (8.2 K/9, 2.25 K/BB rate) and youth still on his side, as he doesn’t turn 23 until April.  There isn’t much risk for the Cards in seeing what Sanchez can do in a new system, as at worst, he can be a depth rotation in the minors.  Sanchez has started 106 of 111 career games, so a turn to relief pitching could also be explored if Sanchez ultimately doesn’t develop as a starter.

Urias, a longtime veteran of the Mexican League, has spent the last two seasons in the Cardinals’ farm system.  The bulk of that time has been spent at the Triple-A level, where the 25-year-old hit .262/.347/.426 with 14 homers over 524 plate appearances.  Urias has played mostly as a second baseman while in the Cards’ organization, though he also has quite a bit of experience as a third baseman, and seen some time as a shortstop, first baseman, and left fielder over his nine professional seasons.

Mariners Sign Yoshihisa Hirano

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The Mariners announced that right-hander Yoshihisa Hirano has been signed to a one-year, Major League contract.  Hirano is represented by John Boggs & Associates.  Left-hander Ricardo Sanchez has been designated for assignment to create roster space.

Hirano will earn $1.6MM in guaranteed money, as per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (all Twitter links), plus incentive bonuses based on numbers of games pitched and finished.  Hirano can begin to unlock these bonuses if he makes at least 30 appearances, or finishes at least 20 games.  There is also a $250K transaction payment due to Hirano whenever he is traded.

After coming to Major League Baseball on a two-year, $6MM deal with the Diamondbacks in the 2017-18 offseason, Hirano finished sixth in NL Rookie Of The Year voting in 2018 after posting a 2.44 ERA, 2.57 K/BB rate, 50.3% grounder rate, and 8.0 K/9 over 66 1/3 innings out of Arizona’s pen.  Despite a higher strikeout rate (10.4 K/9) and K/BB rate (2.77) in 2019, Hirano’s ERA ballooned to 4.75 over 53 frames, and he also spent a few weeks on the injured list due to elbow inflammation.

Despite the wide gap in ERA over the two seasons, Hirano’s advanced metrics indicate a pretty similar level of performance in both 2018 (3.69 FIP, 4.01 xFIP, 3.76 SIERA, .311 xwOBA) and 2019 (4.04 FIP, 4.24 xFIP, 3.95 SIERA, .296 xwOBA).  Hirano finished in the 94th percentile of all pitchers in terms of limiting hard contact last season, so the Mariners are hoping the righty can translate that soft contact into better on-field results.

Though Hirano (who turns 36 in March) only has four career saves, the number of finish-saved incentives in his contract indicate that the Mariners see him as a potential answer to their unsettled ninth-inning situation.  Matt Magill is ostensibly the top in-house choice after saving five games for the M’s down the stretch last season, though those were the only five saves of Magill’s big league career.  While Hirano rarely got the call in save situations for the D’Backs, he has a long and successful history of saving games in Japan, racking up 143 saves for the Orix Buffaloes between 2013-17.

Sanchez posted a 4.44 ERA, 3.55 K/BB rate, and 8.3 K/9 over 146 innings for Double-A Arkansas last season, starting all 27 of his games.  The 22-year-old southpaw already has six years of professional experience, beginning in the Angels’ system before pitching with the Braves from 2015-18.

Mariners Acquire Ricardo Sanchez

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The Mariners have acquired left-hander Ricardo Sanchez from the Braves, tweets Greg Johns of MLB.com. They’ll send cash to Atlanta in exchange for the 21-year-old southpaw, who was designated for assignment two days ago.

Sanchez ascended to the Double-A level for the first time in 2018, though he managed just a 4.06 ERA a 44-to-24 K/BB ratio in 57 1/3 innings in his first action at that level. In parts of five minor league seasons, Sanchez has a 4.48 ERA with 8.1 K/9 against 4.1 BB/9. Sanchez rated 26th among Braves farmhands, per Jonathan Mayo, Jim Callis and Mike Rosenbaum of MLB.com. Their free report on Sanchez praised the lefty’s fastball, curveball and changeup — all of which have a chance to be average or better offerings. Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen has previously called him a potential No. 4 starter but noted that his command needs to take a notable step forward to realize that upside.

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