5:35pm: The Red Sox formally announced all three moves. Sanchez has been designated for assignment, while both Hernandez and Refsnyder have been reinstated from the injured list.
4:30pm: The Red Sox have designated infielder Yolmer Sanchez for assignment, reports Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (Twitter link). The team has yet to formally announce the move, but it’ll come as part of series of transactions that also includes the activation of utilitymen Enrique Hernandez and Rob Refsnyder, per Abraham.
Sanchez, 30, has been with the Red Sox since being selected to the big league roster on July 22. A former Gold Glove winner and regular with the White Sox, he’s seen his offensive output crater in recent years, though never quite to the extent it has so far in Boston. It’s a tiny sample, just 14 games, but Sanchez is just 4-for-37 with seven walks (11.4%), 13 strikeouts (29.5%) and zero extra-base hits through 44 trips to the plate — resulting in a dismal .108/.214/.108 batting line on the year.
Sanchez’s peak years with the bat came in 2017-18 in Chicago, when he posted a combined .253/.312/.390 batting line while playing second base on a near-everyday basis. Granted, even that career-best production was about nine percent worse than league-average, by measure of wRC+, but for a player with Sanchez’s speed and defensive skills, that was plenty to make him a solid regular at second base. His line dipped to .252/.318/.321 in 2019, but Sanchez also won a Gold Glove that year, so the Sox likely didn’t mind the tepid output at the plate.
In the time since winning that Gold Glove, though, Sanchez has barely seen the Majors. He logged just 21 plate appearances with the ChiSox during the shortened 2020 season and spent the 2021 season with the Braves’ Triple-A affiliate where he posted a grisly .216/.309/.352 line in 355 plate appearances. Things were going much better for Sanchez with Boston’s Triple-A club, for whom he’d turned in a .247/.377/.413 line in 305 trips to the plate.
Now that the trade deadline has passed, the only outcome for players who are designated for assignment is to be placed on outright waivers or release waivers. Sanchez has enough service time to reject an outright assignment to the minors if he goes unclaimed.
I think he could end up on the Orioles. If not then he will be on the Anaheim Angels.
Welcome to the Braves Yolmer. I called it!
Its funny because you mention the Braves and the OP mentioned the Orioles and he has been property of both while never playing for either
2021 was spent with the Gwinnett Stripers, so Atlanta.
Absolutely no shot. You taken a look at the Os roster?
I don’t know what the problem is; but it’s the fault of Bloom, Dombrowski and/or Sale……
Comments to follow will explain.
The Red Sox fans blame everything for their problems, except for the one person they despise and the one they love. Personally I despise Henry, but I’m a huge fan of Bloom.
I should clarify, I like Blooms trades, and I think if Henry wasn’t so cheap all of a sudden, Bloom would be a really good GM. Everyone else will disagree with me.
“if Henry wasnt so cheap all of a sudden”
They’re not cheap, the team is currently over the salary threshold. Did you mean “I think Henry will be cheap in the future?”.
Average – ….despise Henry? How many owners have 4 World Champions in the last 119 years?
Let’s start by discarding 19 of 30 MLB franchises that have three or less WS total…..
Answer: less than 5 owners in 119 years.
I waited 33 years as a Red Sox fan to see them win 1 WS, and now they have won 4 in my 51 years as a fan. Henry has been as great an owner as you should expect (otherwise you are a whiny complainer!)
Boston has never been “World Champions” of anything other than “Murica, F#@K Yeah!”
Odd point. Are you saying because baseball is an American sport mostly, so it doesnt count as a “World Champion”? If so arent Toronto in another country? By that logic, no team in any sport is ever a “World Champion”. Sure, whatever.
Boston is one of the most liberal cities in the country.
I feel like a lot of the Boston fans here are spoiled and can’t handle not winning for a few seasons. It’s a rough season. They could finish a few games over .500 and still be in 5th. It happens.
Well said. I’ll add, they have no patients to allow a plan to be complete.
Folks in the medical field without patients must have lots of patience.
The problem with Bloom and the Red Sox is he keeps picking up like 9 platoon players instead of paying for one established star. The Sox need Wilson contreras in the worst way, we need an all star caliber catcher who is actually capable of calling a good game!
And, to invest longterm in a star outfielder. Vazquez was a horrid catcher at game calling, he hit, but our pitching was terrible. Get Contreras this offseason and get a power bat in the outfield either via free agency or trades.
Sign Devers longterm and offer Xander 250 mil, if he walks, he walks. I love Nick Yorke, we should keep him at all costs, he can really hit and is the future at 2nd. Hosmer should stay also, let Xander go, and invest elsewhere.
Stop the 10 platoon player strategy, we arent the Tampa Rays, get a Star!
Here’s one!
P.S. How’re the Rays doing with that terrible roster which has their top position player and starting pitcher out injured? And their infield defense isn’t the best either.
I don’t think Vazquez is a horrid game caller. It’s also pretty hard to quantify that. His catcher ERA is lower than the team’s ERA.
And Nick Yorke has been one of the most disappointing Sox prospects this year. Not saying he won’t be a good player, but it’s hard to be confident with a .640 OPS
Yorke has been hurt most of this year. He is finally playing every day and his OPS in August is .813 so far. Hopefully he stays healthy.
A possible reason for the hard line approach to spending is Henry considering selling. His lack of interest these past two years to spend and fortify the obvious roster holes leads me to believe he wants to maximize his profit in the sale. Consequently long term contracts for Hogwarts and fevers will be under reasonable terms and only offered to deflect public critisism!
Another possible reason is the team is going with a new strategy. Losing draft picks, international pool money, and excessive cap taxes, make it very difficult to compete long term. Many teams, including the Yankees are moving away from this strategy.
The strategy could possibly to skirt the Salary Threshold, some years a little above, some years a little below. Draft and trade for young talent and compliment with veterans. Problem is the team was in rough shape when this began in 2020. So they could spend any money, until this year and had to fill out the roster with questionable talent. Now that they are under the threshold for 2023, they should be more open to bringing in quality FAs. However, the minor leagues were so bleak when this started, not much help will be coming for another year or two after that.
I agree, Marvin. Looks like John Henry hired a guy from the Rays to take advantage of their approach and the Red Sox can add a higher budget to the approach. However, a big part of the Rays approach is having a strong farm system. The Red Sox have been working on the farm in Bloom’s three years so far and have improved, but they still have a roughly middle of the pack farm system.
Im liking that Greenville Drive lineup: Yorke, Mayer, Lugo, Kavadas, Jordan, Hickey. Wish they were further along, but thats the first big crop.
Me too. I like this year’s draft too. It will take some time to get the Red Sox going in Bloom’s direction.
well said. Good points.
Yet no announcement that the Bucs placed Hayes on the 10 day IL and recalled yet and dumpster dive never been utility player from Indy
Kevin Pladlo?
A Van Meter clone
Padlo is better than Van Meter. I have never seen Padlo play, granted, but I have seen Van Meter play and that’s all I need to know no one is worse than him.
I was thinking about taking a night off from baseball coverage to watch a Ron Jeremy documentary but I know that I’m depended on for insight and the breakdowns of games so I’ve added it to my offseason cache and will soldier on
Now there’s some trivia! Ron (not his real name BTW) was from my neighborhood and friends with a good friend of mine. I ended up with one of his golfing shirts (I don’t play golf).
Ronald Jeremy Hyatt.
Kenny always gets his man: welcome back, Yolmer part 3.
From the article: “he’s seen his offensive output crater in recent years, though never quite to the extent it has so far in Boston. ”
Quite a bit of hyperbole there. He’s never had a tough 37 ab stretch in his career? Aug, 2016 – 4 hits in 50 ABs.
Why doesn’t this trio of moves require a fourth move? Sanchez was DFA’d to get Kiké back on the 40-man and 25-man. Whose place is Refsnyder taking?
Jaylin Davis was optioned on Monday to make the 25-man spot.
So happy that Eckersley went into bully-mode on the Pirates to give some motivation. Just what the RS needed.