The Tigers and Phillies announced a minor league trade, with left-hander Ricardo Sanchez heading to Detroit in exchange for cash considerations. Because Sanchez has played the entire season on a minor league contract without spending any time on Philadelphia’s big league roster or big league injured list, he was eligible to be dealt after the August 2 trade deadline.
Sanchez has been assigned to Triple-A, but given how injuries have ravaged the Tigers’ pitching staff to an almost absurd extent, it might not be long before Sanchez gets his second crack in the big leagues. Sanchez made his MLB debut in 2020, throwing 5 1/3 innings over three games with the Cardinals. The southpaw remained in the St. Louis organization until this past March, when he was released and then quickly pivoted to a new minors deal with Philadelphia.
Injuries kept Sanchez off the mound entirely in 2021, but he returned to post a 4.79 ERA over 92 innings with the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate. Never a big strikeout pitcher during his eight seasons in the pros, Sanchez is inducing grounders roughly half the time, but a .337 BABIP hasn’t helped Sanchez keep runs off the board.
Originally signed as an international free agent by the Angels in 2013, Sanchez will now head to his sixth different Major League organization. Sanchez is only 25, so it’s perhaps inaccurate to say that the Tigers only view him as a shorter-term option, but Detroit is likely just looking for all of the depth it can find given the team’s lack of healthy arms.