Why Pittsburgh Pirates Should Use Tony Sanchez as Trade Bait This Offseason

The big story to follow when the Pittsburgh Pirates were eliminated from the playoffs was whether they would re-sign star catcher Russell Martin.  

The organization has made it clear that it intends to pursue Martin in an attempt to keep him in Pittsburgh for the next few seasons, according to Stephen Pianovich of MLB.com.  

If the Pirates are able to bring him back, they would have two established catchers on their roster and a third catcher who has had very limited playing time in his first two major league seasons, Tony Sanchez.  

It is safe to say that if the Pirates bring back Martin, he would start majority of the games, providing that he is healthy.  

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Backing him up should be Chris Stewart, who had an outstanding season as the Pirates' backup catcher, hitting a career-high .294 in 136 at-bats.  

Furthermore, Stewart, who had always been known as a strong defensive catcher, continued to prove that he would be a solid backup for any team, committing just three errors in 340 chances.  

While playing for the New York Yankees in 2013, Stewart committed just two errors behind the plate in 798 chances.  

So, where does that leave Sanchez?

The 26-year-old Sanchez has shown potential during his first two major league seasons, batting .252 with four homers in 135 at-bats for the Pirates.  However, given the fact that the Pirates have had both Martin and Stewart behind the plate, Sanchez has not been given the playing time he could possibly see with another team in need of a backup catcher.  

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Sanchez spent the majority of the 2014 regular season with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, where he did not fare well, batting just .235 in 81 games.  

However, Sanchez has continued to show pop in his bat, blasting 11 home runs for Indianapolis in 2014.  

Now, Sanchez has shown that he can also play some first base, but the Pirates currently have three primary first basemen in Ike Davis, Gaby Sanchez and Andrew Lambo.  

More importantly, it would not be surprising to see the Pirates move third baseman Pedro Alvarez, who has struggled at the hot corner, over to first base to make room for Josh Harrison, who emerged as one of the best hitters in the Pirates organization in 2014.  

It is important to keep in mind that this problem will only be real if the Pirates re-sign Martin, which they would love to do.  If so, they will have too many catchers along with possibly four first basemen, meaning there really wouldn't be room for Sanchez on the roster.  

Since he is already 26 years old and is not showing signs of landing the starting job with the Pirates, especially if Martin is brought back, it may suit both Sanchez and his organization best to trade him for quality pitching, whether it is for a starter or a reliable reliever to add to the already dominant bullpen.

Sanchez would likely be appealing to many teams, as he has big league experience and the potential to add power off a team's bench.  

Providing the Pirates are able to re-sign Martin while keeping Stewart as a backup, it would make sense to make a move including Sanchez while he is still young and has some trade value.  

If the Pirates do not do that, he may be spending the majority of his 2015 season in Triple-A again, which would not make much sense for Sanchez or the Pirates organization.

Sanchez has shown the potential to become a steady backup catcher at the major league level.  But considering he could go into spring training as the third-string backstop, the Pirates simply wouldn't have room for him on the roster.   

Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.