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Pirates Call Up Reliever Angel Sanchez; Option Edgar Santana to Indianapolis

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The Pittsburgh Pirates have selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Angel Sanchez from Indianapolis. To make room for him on the 25-man roster, reliever Edgar Santana was optioned to Indianapolis. There was an open spot on the 40-man roster already, so no additional moves needed to be made.

Sanchez missed all of last season due to Tommy John surgery. When he got injured in August of 2015, he appeared to be on the verge of making his Major League debut. He was a starting pitcher at that time, but has been pitching in relief this season, topping out at three innings pitched.

Sanchez has a 3.74 ERA in 55.1 innings over 39 appearances, with 65 strikeouts and a 1.19 WHIP this season. He has been hitting 96-97 MPH consistently this season, which is higher than where he topped out as a starting pitcher. Sanchez relies on excellent control, with the ability to miss bats and get quick outs via ground balls. He has pitched much better recently, posting a 1.93 ERA since the All-Star break in early July.

Santana pitched two innings in last night’s game, so he would have been unavailable tonight. Sanchez pitched two days ago, but he has thrown just 13 pitches over the last week, so he should be available for long relief tonight. Santana will be able to return shortly after the September 1st call-ups begin, unless he’s replacing someone who was placed on the disabled list.

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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