Pirates Triple-A catcher Tony Sanchez has been cut by his Dominican Winter League team and sent home as reported by John Dreker of Pirates Prospects.
Tony Sanchez was sent home from the Dominican for poor play. Hit .100 in 10 gms, 2 E's 2-for-12 throwing out runners H/T @kmthomp29 #Pirates
— John Dreker (@JohnDreker) December 9, 2014
Sanchez — the Pirates #1 pick (4th overall) in the 2009 draft — hit .100 in 10 games while committing two errors behind the plate and only throwing out two base runners in 12 chances.
With the addition of Francisco Cervelli, Sanchez will most-likely remain in Triple-A this year barring an injury to Cervelli or Chris Stewart.
In 48 career games with the Pirates, Sanchez posts a slash line of .252/.295/.378 and a .672 OPS with four home runs, five doubles and 18 RBI. In 36 games behind the plate, Sanchez committed five errors and threw out 15% (4-of-23) of baserunners trying to steal.
In Triple-A (3 seasons), Sanchez has a slash line of .253/.342/.447 and a OPS of .789 with 29 home runs, 55 doubles and 113 RBI in 734 at bats.
His career seemed to be in cruise control until being sidelined in 2010 after being hit by a pitch in the jaw that required having his jaw wired shut. At the time, he was hitting .314 in High-A with 17 doubles, four home runs and 35 RBI in 59 games.
After the injury, Sanchez played a season in AA where he batted .241 and a year later, he hit .251 between AA and AAA.
His best season came in 2013 where he batted .288 in AAA with 10 home runs, 26 doubles and 42 RBI in 76 games. However, the average dropped again last season to .235 in 81 games.
(Photo Credit: Joe Sargent / Getty Images)
