Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - 2011/2012 MLB Off-season Thread

troutman · 11-07-2011, 12:53 PM

First impression: Giants did well in Jonathan Sanchez deal

http://blog.sfgate.com/giants/2011/1...-sanchez-deal/

The Giants have formally announced their trade of Jonathan Sanchez and minor-league pitcher Ryan Verdugo to the Kansas City Royals for 27-year-old, switch-hitting outfielder Melky Cabrera.

We’ll learn what this means for the Carlos Beltran pursuit. Actually, this might mean more for Andres Torres, since Cabrera is a center fielder.

In fact, the Giants might have fulfilled Beltran’s demand that they find a leadoff hitter. Cabrera is not a true leadoff hitter. He rarely walks. But he can steal bases and he’s the best they have right now.

As I mentioned in the previous blog, this is a deal involving two players whose salaries both will spike in 2011 in their final arbitration years. Both teams are taking risks, but I think the Royals are taking the bigger gamble here because Sanchez is coming off a terrible season in which he could not maintain focus on the mound and was hurt. The Giants ‘ biggest risk is that Cabrera’s excellent 2011 season was an outlier. His .809 OPS is 52 points higher than his previous career high.

11-07-2011, 12:53 PM	#3
troutman Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Crowsnest Pass Exp:	First impression: Giants did well in Jonathan Sanchez deal http://blog.sfgate.com/giants/2011/1...-sanchez-deal/ The Giants have formally announced their trade of Jonathan Sanchez* and minor-league pitcher Ryan Verdugo to the Kansas City Royals for 27-year-old, switch-hitting outfielder Melky Cabrera.* We’ll learn what this means for the Carlos Beltran pursuit. Actually, this might mean more for Andres Torres, since Cabrera is a center fielder. In fact, the Giants might have fulfilled Beltran’s demand that they find a leadoff hitter. Cabrera is not a true leadoff hitter. He rarely walks. But he can steal bases and he’s the best they have right now. As I mentioned in the previous blog, this is a deal involving two players whose salaries both will spike in 2011 in their final arbitration years. Both teams are taking risks, but I think the Royals are taking the bigger gamble here because Sanchez is coming off a terrible season in which he could not maintain focus on the mound and was hurt. The Giants ‘ biggest risk is that Cabrera’s excellent 2011 season was an outlier. His .809 OPS is 52 points higher than his previous career high.