Giants Chasing All-Star Hitter Freddy Sanchez
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The Giants are exploring a trade for Pittsburgh Pirates' All-Star power hitter Freddy Sanchez.
If you're still sore about Pablo Sandoval being denied by the All-Star Team fan vote, try this rumor on for size. The Giants are reportedly among teams in trade talks to acquire Pittsburgh second baseman Freddy Sanchez. If this deal went down before Tuesday, the Giants would then have a third All-Star and a fearsome batter sporting the SF orange and black at Tuesday night's Midsummer Classic.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is reporting that the Pirates are "pushing hard" to trade Freddy Sanchez, and that the Giants are among the interested trading partners. "The San Francisco Giants and Colorado Rockies are two of the teams with which the Pirates have spoken," says the Post-Gazette, "But there are as many as four or five more."
Freddy Sanchez is the Pirates' leading hitter, and his .314 average has him ranked in the top fifteen batters in the National League. He doesn't hit a ton of homers, but he's already got 96 hits before midseason. It would be like adding another Pablo Sandoval to the line-up.
The Post-Gazette also speculates that the Giants could make this a "Sanchez for Sanchez" trade, giving up pitcher Jonathan Sanchez and an unnamed pitching prospect. If Brain Sabean can trade a tarnished fifth-starter and a pitching prospect not named Bumgarner or Alderson and get an All-Star second baseman in return, he goes back to being a genius in my book for at least the next week or two.
And if he can pull this trade before Tuesday, that adds another San Francisco Giant to the All-Star Game.
John Perrato of PiratesReport.com emailed MLB and received confirmation that if Freddy Sanchez were traded prior to Tuesday, he would not play the All-Star game as a Pittsburgh Pirate. He would represent his new team if traded within the National League, and the Pirates would go All-Starless.
But this would be an acquisition with importance well beyond the All-Star Break. With another top-notch power bat in the their suddenly-popping line-up, the Giants don't just figure to solidify their standing as the Wild Card team. They figure to cause the Dodgers some serious headaches -- in October.
Joe Kukura is a freelance writer who changes his mind every week or two on whether Brian Sabean is a genius or an idiot.
Copyright NBC Owned Television Stations
Posted Saturday, Jul 18, 2009 - 12:05 PM PST
