Orioles claim Yolmer Sanchez

[Philip]

32 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Is there even a stat kept for “unearned runs scored off the infield?”   If so, I’ve never seen it.   

Of course defense is important.   It’s logical that it’s less important when 24.5 balls per game are being put in play per game (2020) than when 27.4 balls per game are being put in play (1970).   And the value of infield defense is further diluted when the percentage of balls hit in the air increases.    The ratio of ground outs to air outs is 1.00 today compared to 1.08 in 1970.   So figure infield defense is arguably about 15% less important today than it was in 1970. 

I don’t know if there’s a split between infield unearned runs and Outfield unearned runs, But just watching the games from day today makes it clear that the infield gives up a lot of runs that they shouldn’t have.

[Roll Tide]

MLBTR mentioned in their Iglesias notes that Sanchez could be a signal that they may walk from Hanser. I hope they are wrong as to me Sanchez is just a weak hitting Utility player. His OPS was 100 points lower than Alberto in 2019 and Sanchez got almost no at bats this year (16). 

[jamalshw]

His 2019 was very bad offensively. He was better (though still not good) in 2017-2018. I really think this is all about defense. The Orioles don't have many prospects ready in the infield save for maybe Vavra and Bannon. The Orioles are getting Vavra reps in the OF showing they are not all-in on him as an everyday player at 2B and Bannon seems to be an afterthought as well.

If we are not going to give it to young players to see what we got, I'm all on board for giving it to a great defender to help run prevention for what I hope to be a plethora of youngsters on the mound.

[TommyPickles]

I really hope they keep Alberto too.  I think between Iglesias, Alberto, Sanchez, Ruiz, Urias, Martin, and Wilkerson you can put together a real nice unit of 2B/SS/3B/UTI.  You have the depth to survive a few injuries and space for some guys to get more seasoning in AAA.  Plus, as people have mentioned, you may be able to trade Iglesias (or even Alberto) mid-season.

I also like that they now have Sanchez controlled through 2022.  I still think Elias is going to compete for a wild card spot in 2022.

[BohKnowsBmore]

23 hours ago, jamalshw said:

His 2019 was very bad offensively. He was better (though still not good) in 2017-2018. I really think this is all about defense. The Orioles don't have many prospects ready in the infield save for maybe Vavra and Bannon. The Orioles are getting Vavra reps in the OF showing they are not all-in on him as an everyday player at 2B and Bannon seems to be an afterthought as well.

If we are not going to give it to young players to see what we got, I'm all on board for giving it to a great defender to help run prevention for what I hope to be a plethora of youngsters on the mound.

FWIW, Sanchez is a switch hitter with a stronger platoon split vs. RHP (.670 compared to .626 vs. LHP). That's superior to Alberto's .591 vs. RHP (compared to .831 vs. RHP). Could feasibly shift Alberto into more of a platoon role with the ability to PH late in games.

[jamalshw]

49 minutes ago, BohKnowsBmore said:

FWIW, Sanchez is a switch hitter with a stronger platoon split vs. RHP (.670 compared to .626 vs. LHP). That's superior to Alberto's .591 vs. RHP (compared to .831 vs. RHP). Could feasibly shift Alberto into more of a platoon role with the ability to PH late in games.

That will depend on whether the Orioles want to pay Sanchez's and Alberto's arbitration salaries to split the position. As a fan, I'm not opposed to the idea. I just wonder if the Orioles will willingly pay both players.

[BohKnowsBmore]

On 11/3/2020 at 9:42 AM, jamalshw said:

That will depend on whether the Orioles want to pay Sanchez's and Alberto's arbitration salaries to split the position. As a fan, I'm not opposed to the idea. I just wonder if the Orioles will willingly pay both players.

That's definitely fair. Could be more of a situation where it's not a straight platoon in that Sanchez is playing other places as well (maybe they both play ~65-70% of PA total as a result).