The Rockies and Royals have agreed to a trade that will send left-hander Jonathan Sanchez to Colorado for right-hander Jeremy Guthrie, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). Both players have struggled in 2012 and are on track to hit free agency after the season. The teams have confirmed the move.
Sanchez was recently designated for assignment following a short and disappointing stint in Kansas City. The Royals acquired him in an ill-fated offseason trade that sent Melky Cabrera to San Francisco. Sanchez posted a 7.76 ERA with 6.1 K/9 and 7.4 BB/9 in 53 1/3 innings for Kansas City, averaging less than 4.5 innings per start. He earns $5.6MM this year and will likely be in line for an incentive-based or minor league deal as a free agent unless he restores his value in hitter-friendly Coors Field.
Guthrie, 33, posted a 6.35 ERA with 4.5 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in Colorado. He allowed a league-leading 21 home runs in 90 2/3 innings. He earns $8.2MM this year.
Change of scenery back to the NL and back to the AL… hope it works out.
The Giants stole Melky Cabrera. The Orioles stole Jason Hammel.
Thats what this trade tells me.
and Lindstrom.
Lindstrom was injured this season and is providing a 0.4 WAR.
Nothing to write home about. So no, not and Lindstrom. Just Hammel.
Even though your conventional post was in an attempt to be politically correct, it was still unjustified. Hammel was definitely the main piece of value there.
for a reliever, .4 WAR in 21 games is great. he’s pitched very well for the orioles
Spot on. Despite having a minor injury, Lindstrom has been solid for the O’s this year.
Oh, and don’t forget, the O’s have another year of control on each player.
I think Guthrie will actually get his stuff together in KC, but why in the world would Colorado acquire Sanchez to pitch in Coors?
I suspect Guthrie @ $8.2m and zero trade value versus Sanchez @ $5.6m had something to do with it. A less-expensive steaming pile of worthlessness? Maybe now the Rox can DFA Sanchez and save the difference in remaining salary.
Sanchez doesnt give up many HR’s as Guthrie. As an Orioles fan, I have no idea why the Rockies took Gurthrie in the first place. Putting a pitcher who gives up a lot of HRs in a HR friendly ballpark is never a good thing.
Coors doesn’t just affect the long ball.
That’s what she said?
According to ESPN park factors, Camden Yards is only slightly below Coors in the amount of HRs per game. 1.38 to 1.33. They rank 4th and 5th. So Camden is also a HR friendly park. The Rockies shouldn’t have expected this level of awful from Guthrie.
Agreed, and I’ll add to it. Sanchez has a career K/9 of 9.1 vs Guthrie who has a career K/9 of 5.4. Sanchez was a strikeout machine when he wasn’t busy walking people. If he somehow finds a way to reduce walks, and restore his strikeout numbers, while Guthrie rights his ship in a park that isn’t as HR prone… this deal could favor both sides.
He’s not magically going to get better control.
When has Jonathan Sanchez ever NOT been “busy walking people?” He’s had some of the worst control in all of MLB for his whole career.
Sanchez has a high K rate because he barely pitches any innings. He has a legendarily bad WHIP and BB/9 rate this year and hasn’t pitched into the 7th inning for over a year.
You got that right. If he gets installed in the Rockies 4-man rotation with their 75-pitch limit, Sanchez should have no problem sneaking through the 2nd inning before getting yanked.
The Rox are best served either trying to make him a lefty bullpen specialist or straight-up DFA-ing him.
In the past he did have a high K/9, this year however, its dropped to 6.1 from 9.1 last year. ouch.
If this deal favors Colorado I owe you a Coke.
I’ve never understood why teams haven’t tried to convert Sanchez to a stopper. he can look like Koufax one inning and like he’s throwing batting practice the next inning. I’ve always been convinced his destiny was as a one-inning guy, potentially a closer if his head gets screwed on right.
Giants tried, he walked too many.
Because you can’t give up homers in Coors if you walk every batter you face.
The Royals are taking on some of Guthrie’s contract (I heard $1.4m). Maybe the Rockies are impressed by his 4-3 career record against them in Coors, although the metrics are very Sanchez-like.
It’s not as insane as it sounds, I guess. The Rockies can have their people try and salvage Sanchez, with an eye toward convincing him they’re a good place to get restarted with a cheap minor league deal for 2013. Probably, they get nothing out of him, but they save around a million bucks either way.
And the Royals unload a sunk cost for a guy who might right his ship fairly quickly at sea level.
Sanchez vs. RHB: .244/.350/.400
Sanchez vs. LHB: .214/.310/.348
I’d guess that the Rockies are going to try to rebuild his value as a reliever.
I could see Sanchez thrive in that situation. Might make a nice LOOGY for Rox
Very interesting idea — but he’d still need to somehow find his control. LOOGYs don’t last very long when they walk the one guy they face.
Sanchez is a lost cause, but this might actually work out for Guthrie. He’s a decent pitcher when put into the right situation. Coors Field isn’t right for anybody. Without the pressure of living up to trying to bolster a starting rotation that had hoped to content in Colorado, Guthrie could very well find himself again in KC.
Jason Kendall now this… please DM do NOT make any more moves…
Why? Would you RATHER have Sanchez. This a moderate reward, low risk trade. I don’t think the Kendall signing wasn’t a bad move at all either, also no risk, jus a depth move.
No I dont want Sanchez or Guthrie! Why must the Royals always take on projects. Signing a 38 year old catcher is never a good move even if it’s for depth.
Categorically disagree.
Kendall has nothing to do with depth, he was signed to give the struggling pitchers in NW Arkansas a veteran catcher that can teach them to be as much like a crafty veteran as possible. I love the (coach) Kendall signing and are you kidding me about Guthrie, if the Royals would have signed him in the offseason people would have been doing backflips for GMDM. Coors field bites for most pitchers.
Guthrie’s worst starting performances away from Coors were at Chase, Comerica and Great American — two of which are indisputed hitter’s parks. Kauffman will be a lot friendlier, but I’m not expecting anything great from Guthrie — just that he’ll be an improvement from Sanchez. Best-case scenario is that the move will do for Guthrie what it did for Hammels.
I don’t understand why Colorado made this deal. Sanchez was DFA’d and could have been signed when he was released. Why give up anything for him? Guthrie was a tradable commodity…especially to a team such as Toronto.
Not sure it was even for depth. Kendall was a minor league deal and he was sent to NW Arkansas to help straighten Mike Montgomery out. If that works…then it was well worth the miniscule cost to the Royals.
Braves are going to cut Jack Wilson in August. I think we all know who’d love to pick up another ex-Brave
god i hope the braves cut jack wilson…
Jack Wilson will be DFA when he comes off the DL. Just watch. If Janish can get more than 3 hits and lay down a bunt maybe twice. It’s game over for Wilson.
Sad thing is he knows it’s coming too. Look back at his comments when they got Janish.
Not that much, they don’t. Besides, the Royals already have budding stars at SS (Escobar, signed through 2016) and 3B (Moustakas, under team control through ’17), and even their back-up (Betancourt, whose .671 OPS is higher than Wilson’s has been since 2007) is far superior.
I’m guessing this is the kind of swap in which teams take on each other’s bad assets and see if they can fix them. It’s not a bad trade, though it has more upside for the Royals than the Rockies.
Jeremy Guthrie does much better with a solid defense behind him.
Very underwhelming start to the trade deadline.
How does one “start” a trade deadline? Unwhelming it is, though, but the Royals are desperate for SP which can last more than 2 innings. Guthrie has a chance of doing that, especially in pitcher-friendly Kauffman.
I would’ve thrown Kevin Gregg their way … He makes less than Sanchez and actually can pitch for the big league club.
Gregg just can’t close out games though. 😉
The Royals have relievers much better than Gregg. Their problem is starting pitchers. Not saying Guthrie is the answer, but I’d bet hard-earned money that he won’t reach Sanchez’ level of stinkitude with the Royals.
I was saying Kevin Gregg would have been a better return for the Rockies than Sanchez.
Just a swap between the two short ends of awful offseason trades. If Guthrie can regain his thoroughly unimpressive, yet solid, Orioles form with the Royals, it’s a good move for a rotation that has been nothing short of dreadful. I don’t think Sanchez has a shot.
Jeremy Guthrie: 9.50 ERA and 14 HR in 41.2 IP at Coors Field… 3.67 ERA and 7 HR in 49 IP on the road.
Think he’s excited to get out of Denver?
What an odd morning
This will no doubt inspire the Cubs and Angels to swap Alfonso Soriano and Vernon Wells straight up.
Except that soriano has been great this season while wells has been Hirt and horrible
You’re right, but can he honestly hold that up? All kidding aside, the Cubs should sell high on him right now.
Talk about a joint free fall. Ugh
They should have traded Frenchy for Sanchez…
This is like trading a ticket on the Titanic for one on the Lusitania.
Which one of them is the Lusitania?
Two-Shay
I would be suprised if Sanchez even shows up in CO. The guy has been a complete head case ever since his implosion against the Phillies in the 2010 NLCS.
I’m sensing a JA Happ to Kansas City for Jeremy Guthrie deal.
The Royals have turned Melky Cabrera into Jonathan Sanchez and now Jeremy Guthrie. Woops…
As if there wasn’t already enough tragedy in Colorado today.
Royals were blinded by that shiny no-hitter Sanchez has on his resume, and threw away Melky Cabrera. Colorado is probably going to get stung by trading for Sanchez too.
ok so having done a little research on this after reading comments here I understand this trade from the Rox side. In his career in SF Sanchez actually threw very well against Colorado in Coors as a starter and minimized the long ball. So from that point and knowing the NL West as well this could, I say could, work for both teams as it may favor the players changing leagues.
I’m thinking if Guthrie can string together a few solid starts with KC, he’ll be flipped during waiver trades, unless he pitches well a couple games and signs a 1 year 4-5 million deal with KC.
Not sure why Colorado didn’t hold onto him and do the same themselves. They could have gotten Sanchez after he cleared the assignment.