Orioles claim Yolmer Sanchez

[MurphDogg]

Former 2019 Gold Glove winner at 2B.

 

Was non-tendered by White Sox in 2019 after winning a Gold Glove, signed a minor league deal with the Giants in January 2020, didn't break with the team, was released in August, re-signed with White Sox and played in 13 games.

 

Curious what he gets in arbitration.

 

Would think he would be penciled in as the everyday 2B and Alberto either goes to third or is non-tendered.

[eddie83]

Moose’s favorite time of the year. 

[Sports Guy]

Not much of a hitter but has a good Glove at second.  Wouldn’t be surprised to see him added with the thought they non tender Alberto.

[luismatos4prez]

Good glove at 3B, too. And under team control for 2 years. I really like this waiver claim.

The Orioles have no ML-ready prospects at 2B/3B/SS. Yet, they can have an actually good infield with Alberto, Sanchez, and Iglesias for ~7-8M combined. I hope they don't cut Alberto. The payroll is already looking to come in around 50M next year which is pathetically low no matter what revenue was lost this year.

[Philip]

Bye bye Alberto, at least the new guy has a glove.

[Legend_Of_Joey]

This increased my thoughts that Urias might be outrighted to Norfolk.

[fansince71]

2 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

Not much of a hitter but has a gold Glove at second.  Wouldn’t be surprised to see him added with the thought they non tender Ruiz.

Fixed.

[Philip]

7 minutes ago, fansince71 said:

Fixed.

If Alberto is the weak link in the infield, hmmmm who is the weaker link? Alberto hits better than Ruiz but they are both lousy defenders. Is solid 2B defense more important than 3B D? 

Alberto would be too expensive expensive for a platoon player. I think they get rid of both of them.

[OrioleDog]

A fun acquisition to put it in a gray area of is Ruiz or Alberto more nervous?

Before Madrigal gave CWS a Guy everywhere on the dirt, he got a lot of run and I believe was an especially beloved teammate, etc

[murph]

1 hour ago, OrioleDog said:

A fun acquisition to put it in a gray area of is Ruiz or Alberto more nervous?

Before Madrigal gave CWS a Guy everywhere on the dirt, he got a lot of run and I believe was an especially beloved teammate, etc

I would think Ruiz would be the one to be worried by performance, but the dollars for Hanser may be the deciding factor? 

[Legend_Of_Joey]

3 minutes ago, murph said:

I would think Ruiz would be the one to be worried by performance, but the dollars for Hanser may be the deciding factor? 

Why not both?

[wildcard]

Kind of blows the "not spending" theory out the water.  He is projected by Cots contracts to get 4M.  And being arbitration eligible its could be higher or lower.

Gold Glove at 2B but he is probably better at 3B than Ruiz.  Spent a lot of time in the minors as a SS and is probably a good backup there.  If Iglesias is traded Sanchez may be the starting SS.

He could be a trade chip at the deadline and is a free agent after the season.

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, wildcard said:

Kind of blows the "not spending" theory out the water.  He is projected by Cots contracts to get 4M.  And being arbitration eligible its could be higher or lower.

Gold Glove at 2B but he is probably better at 3B than Ruiz.  Spent a lot of time in the minors as a SS and is probably a good backup there.  If Iglesias is traded Sanchez may be the starting SS.

He could be a trade chip at the deadline and is a free agent after the season.

We'll see what he ends up making, if he even ends up in Baltimore.

[murph]

56 minutes ago, Legend_Of_Joey said:

Why not both?

Good point!  
 

I will miss Hanser if it does go that way.  Such an enjoyable player to watch. 

[wildcard]

Does the claiming of Sanchez mean that Elias is going to try to win in 2021?

Up until now Elias has gone cheap.  And almost completely focused on the long term future.

Sanchez is not a long term addition but Elias seems to be willing to risk arbitration with him that might cost the team between 4m and 6m.  He made 4.6m in 2019 and was projected to make 6.2m last year before he  was DFA'd.   

This appears to signal a change in Elias' approach.    Its a bigger expenditure  than committing 2.5m plus a 500K buyout to Iglesias. 

While it certainly does not mean Elias will spend big on free agents it does look like he is spending to upgrade the infield defense which will benefit the young pitchers and the team's ability to win games.

Another item......

I see that Roch and MLBTR are reporting that the O's have control of Sanchez until after the 2022 season.   But Cots Contracts  and Baseball Reference both say he has 5.040 service time which make him a FA after the 2021 season.     Someone is wrong here.