The Kid's Alright: Don't Trade Freddy

Please don’t trade Freddy Sanchez. Really, I mean it. There is just something about this kid. Trust me, he is more valuable to the Boston Red Sox than any fourth or fifth starter, which might be all they can get for him.

Allow me to make my case. First, I have to confess, I have seen perhaps a dozen of his 27 major league at bats this season. Both numbers are much too low to get a good feel for what this 25 year old can do. However, from what I have seen, and from what the scouts are saying, Freddy Sanchez is someone for the Sox to keep. It is hard to forget Sanchez’ first major league hit, a two RBI rope he hit against the Devil Rays last September, with two down and the bases full of Red Sox. His clutch hit was no stroke of beginner’s luck, rather an indication of the offense he can put up.

 Sanchez, in part of two seasons in triple A Pawtucket boasts a robust .405 OBP. This year alone, prior to his call up on May 30, Sanchez was hitting .384 and slugging .566, in addition to playing sparkling defense for the Paw Sox.

John Sickles, author of the 2003 Baseball Prospect Book, said of Sanchez in an ESPN.com article this week, “He projects as a .280-.310 hitter at the major-league level, with a fine on-base percentage and plenty of doubles.” Sounds like Theo Epstein’s kind of middle infielder. Not the greatest player in the world, but with someone like Nomar Garciaparra as his double play partner, he will work just fine. Sickles went on to say, stressing it was merely a possibility, a strenuous if, that “a normal growth curve would make him a potential batting champion down the line.”
Therefore, that is what Freddy Sanchez could be, a batting champ. But that’s only a remote possibility. Right now, he is a solid right handed hitter that has a panache for slicing line drives and gets himself on base; reminiscent, perhaps, of a certain number 5 in the early stage of his career. Sanchez is not Nomar, though to be honest, there are similarities. Both are California boys and both tore up collegiate baseball, Garciaparra at Georgia Tech and Sanchez at Oklahoma City. Five years Garciaparra’s junior, who knows what Freddy Sanchez will be when he reaches 30. It was thanks to Nomar’s rock steady presence at short that the Sox moved Sanchez around in the minors, trying him out across the infield. Now, Freddy steps up to the Majors with experience at second and third, as well as his natural short.

The Sox seem to have a backlog of infielders, even with the departure of Shea Hillenbrand. But honestly, how long will Todd Walker be roaming Fenway Park? His contract is up at the end of the year, and if Sanchez can put up comparable numbers with better defense and for less money, we all know whom Theo will go with. Freddy Sanchez might be the second baseman of the future in Boston, and that’s not such a bad thing.

Potential, as Sickles underlined, is very difficult to measure. Just a year ago Tony Blanco was the cream of the crop for the Sox, yet this year very few fists were raised in anger when the Sox sent him packing to Cincinnati for Todd Walker. Remember the potential of Michael Coleman? How about Juan Pena? How many homeruns has Darnell Stenson blasted this season? So any argument as to why Freddy Sanchez should remain in Beantown has to founded on more than this phantom thing we call potential. It is.

This year, Sanchez is not quite the offensive player Sickles and many others are predicting him to be. He has hit a very modest .222 in the aforementioned 27 at bats. He is, however, a contributor in other ways. Though not a speed demon, Sanchez is a perfectly able fresh set of legs off the bench with a good baseball head. As Sickles said, “He is a fundamentally sound runner who makes the most of his slightly above-average speed, and steals bases at a solid percentage.”

What the Sox need most out of Sanchez in 2003, more than his legs and even his bat, is his glove. And if his performance on the 14th against the Astros is any indication of what’s to come from him in the field, no longer will the Sox have to suffer through second basemen the caliber of Jose Offerman or Todd Walker. On a Jeff Kent ground ball in the fifth, Sanchez made a difficult play look routine and saved the Sox two runs. With another awe-inspiring defensive feat in the seventh, snaring a ball to his right on a slide, Sanchez induced a chorus of “Freddy! Freddy!” from the Fenway faithful and a “Holy Expletive!” from yours truly. It won’t be the last time Sanchez brings the fans to their feet, mark my words. In total, Sanchez racked up ten assists on the night, from third base, a position at which he has a grand total of 26.2 major league innings. And though his offense on that day was nothing special, actually an 0-4 with a backwards K from the 8-hole, Sanchez impacted the game. And on a team overflowing with offense, a little defense is a very nice addition.

Freddy Sanchez will be a high OBP middle infielder with a slick glove, a good work ethic, a love of baseball and batting champion potential, who has already made his mark on the Sox in ’03 in the field and off the bench. As Grady Little said in the Boston Globe on June 13 in Bob Hohler’s article, “Freddy's ready to play in the big leagues.” In the end, I believe he is their second baseman of the future. Yet, with a barren, trade-depleted farm system, the Red Sox have only a handful of prospects other teams might be interested in as they try to acquire another arm in order to propel past the Yankees. I agree, the Sox need to do something. But they need to figure out a way to do it without dealing Freddy Sanchez.

- JJ Feigenbaum (he's only 16, like that matters)