The trade that sent outfielder Melky Cabrera to the San Francisco Giants Monday has sparked a lot of discussion, but just how does the mastermind of the deal feel about it? John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted some quotes from Giants general manager Brian Sabean about his general reaction to the trade and how it affects the ball club.
Many a Giants fan were not too keen on the idea of letting go of Sanchez, who threw a no-hitter for the club in 2009 and was a big part of their 2010 World Championship team. Nevertheless, Sabean realized the market for Sanchez wasn't going to get much better, and the time was now to make a trade:
"We were never close to trading Sanchez at any point in time in the past. In this case, it was time to cross the bridge. . . . We did put Sanchez's name out at the end of the season...last week, we decided we had a match."
Cabrera, who arguably had his career year in 2011, batting .305/.339/.470 with 18 home runs and 20 stolen bases for the Royals, though he is a .275/.331/..398 career hitter in his six years in the majors. Could the Giants have gotten a sweeter deal for Sanchez and Verdugo than Cabrera? Here's what Sabean had to say about the market for Sanchez:
"Quite frankly, because of his year this year, there wasn't a lot of (trade) action. . . This year didn't help not being able to not come back at the end of the year."
The Giants have a lot of options for a fifth starter, which is what Sanchez essentially had become, and figured to use him when he value was the highest to get what they really needed, a decent leadoff hitter. Overall I think it's going to work out, just check out this possible lineup next year for San Francisco:
@JohnSheaHey
John Shea This sound OK?: CF Melky, 2B Sanchez, 3B Pablo, C Posey, LF Beltran, 1B Huff/Belt, RF Schierholtz, SS Crawford.
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Yes John. Yes it does.
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