The Pittsburgh Pirates signed Neftali Feliz to a one year, $3.9 million deal today and in order to make room for him on the 40-man roster, they designated 2009 first round draft pick Tony Sanchez for assignment.
Unless a team claims Sanchez off waivers he will likely remain in the system, but not be on the 40-man roster. This is still a sad thing for the career of the once-promising first round pick.
Tony Sanchez has spent parts of the last three seasons with the big league roster but never really took off as a regular catcher and has probably been surpassed in the Pirates’ minor league system by Elias Diaz and Reese McGuire. He spent the bulk of the 2015 season in Triple-A Indianapolis, where he did not have a strong season as he hit .236/.342/.342/.684 with three home runs and 47 RBIs. His defense also took a huge step back as he committed 12 errors and only threw out 18 percent of would-be base-stealers.
Tony Sanchez has had a tumultuous career in the Pirates’ organization since he was taken with the fourth overall pick in the 2009 Draft. He’s broken his jaw twice, once in a 2012 bar fight, and has seen himself go from a top 50 prospect to DFA’d to make room for a pitcher on a one-year deal. it has certainly been a big fall from grace for the catcher.
This move also brings to light just how poor the 2009 Draft was for the Pirates and Neal Huntington. None of the players taken have contributed much to the Big League club and the first round pick of Sanchez has been much an unfortunate bust. The most successful player from the draft was Vic Black, who was used to bring over Marlon Byrd from the New York Mets during the 2013 August waiver trade deadline. If Sanchez is claimed, the Pirates will have no one left from the 2009 draft.
It is fairly doubtful that Tony Sanchez will be claimed by any team and he will likely end up remaining in the organization and playing for the Indianapolis Indians in 2016, but him being DFA’d and taken off the 40-man roster is a clear indicator that the Pirates have lost faith in him and it’s unlikely he ever sees any substantial time in Pittsburgh again. He was once the top catching prospect in the organization, but ineffectiveness and a series of unfortunate events have led him to being essentially minor league depth and a second string catcher in Triple-A.
I think the most disappointing thing about Tony Sanchez’s fall from grace is that he was put in the most unfortunate position from the day he was drafted. He was only selected because Dave Littlefield didn’t draft Matt Wieters in the 2007 Draft and instead took Daniel Moskos. That domino effect eventually lead to the Pirates and Neal Huntington taking the most highly regarded catcher in the 2009 draft and that was Tony Sanchez.
The off the field troubles and the defensive regression are obviously nobody’s fault except for Sanchez, but he was put in a difficult situation and unless something drastic changes, he will most likely be remembered as a forgettable first round bust. The MLB Draft is the trickiest draft to figure out as a majority of players selected never see a big league roster, but that doesn’t make the first round busts any easier to swallow. For the Pittsburgh Pirates and specifically Neal Huntington, the 2009 Draft is a huge black eye on a mostly stellar recent résumé. If Tony Sanchez sees substantial time in the majors, though, it probably won’t be with the Pirates.
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