How a Jonathan Sanchez in the Pen Could Benefit the Giants On and Off the Field

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

I’m not giving up on Jonathan Sanchez just yet. His stuff really is undeniable. He can frustrate hitters with his pitches and he has a presence on the mound that at times, looks like the makings of an ace.

Yet while he does not want to hear this, Sanchez is done as a starter. On Sunday he proved that as he retired the Brewers five, six and seven hitters all by strikeout in the ninth inning of the Giants 7-0 win over the Brewers.

But that is not a bad thing. Sanchez is a mediocre starter, a third guy in the rotation at best, whether it is on the Giants or any other team.

As a reliever though, he can be nails, not to mention the premiere left-handed option that has the makings of not only a quality set-up man, but dare I say it, a closer.

Sanchez in the ninth? It isn’t as far-fetched as it seems.

I believe we have seen the ceiling on our current closer Brian Wilson. He has been a great option for the past couple of years, and has been our best closer since Robb Nen was closing out games, and coming onto the field with “Smoke on the Water” playing over the loudspeakers.

As a result, Giants fans have fawned over Wilson. However, they have not become fans of the quirky pitcher because he is a dominant closer, but rather because Giants fans have had to sit through god-awful ninth-inning men since Nen’s departure.

Matt Herges? Brad Hennessey? Armando Benitez? Those guys were as skilled in the ninth inning as Miss Teen South Carolina was with the English language at the Miss Teen USA competition last year.

Thus, while Wilson has done the job so far, in no way should he be considered the closer of the future for the Giants. He is not up there in the current class of top closers such as K-Rod from the Mets or Joe Nathan from the Twins (who could’ve been our closer if it wasn’t for Sabean’s incompetence).

Wilson has thrived on getting the bottom of the lineup out in the ninth and one or two out saves. Yet when the game gets pressure-filled, Wilson has failed more times than he has succeeded. Granted, I like Wilson for now, but the fact of the matter is, he is expendable, and should be explored in deals to help the Giants upgrade for a better offensive threat.

And with Wilson being a guy we can let go, that makes the Sanchez in relief idea more enticing.

The Tampa Bay Rays exhibited to us last year that you don’t necessarily need one guy to close out in the ninth. Manager Joe Madden showed that if you mix it up and pitch on matchups rather than just go to a single closer, you can be just as successful. The Rays last year rode a trip to the World Series with a lefty in JP Howell and a righty in Grant Balfour mixing it up in the eighth and ninth innings, depending on the matchups.

What does Sanchez have in common with them? They were both former starters who failed as starting pitchers, but excelled as relievers.

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