The Phillies have acquired prospect RHP Rodolfo Sanchez from the Rays
The Philadelphia Phillies have received their first acquisition through trade of the offseason — as part of a deal they made during the 2020 season that sent right-handed reliever Edgar Garcia to the eventual American League champion Tampa Bay Rays.
A few years ago they traded a Sanchez pitching prospect to the Miami Marlins — the now well-known Sixto Sanchez. Now, they are getting one back from another Florida MLB team. On Thursday, the Phillies announced that they have acquired right-handed pitching prospect Rodolfo Sanchez from the Rays as the player to be named later, completing the mid-August trade.
Sanchez, 20, last pitched professionally in the 2019 season with the short-season Hudson Valley Renegades, a low-A Rays affiliate. Spanning 13 starts, the Dominican Republic native went 3-2 with a 3.41 ERA, 1.184 WHIP, and 57-20 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 63 1/3 innings.
Combined through 44 professional appearances in the Rays system, Sanchez went 14-6 with a 3.03 ERA, along with 154 strikeouts in 160 1/3 frames.
Garcia, 24, had yet to appear in the 2020 season with the Phillies before he was dealt on August 18. The fellow Dominican Republic native had gone 2-0 with a 5.77 ERA, 45-26 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and 1.641 WHIP spanning 37 appearances and 39 innings in red pinstripes as a rookie in 2019.
Garcia made four appearances with the Rays following the trade, allowing four runs in 3 1/3 innings en route to a 10.80 ERA and 2.100 WHIP. He did not appear in the postseason for the Kevin Cash-led squad.
Before he was traded to the Rays, the Phillies designated Garcia for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot for top hitting prospect Alec Bohm, who is currently a 2020 National League Rookie of the Year Award finalist.
Sanchez seems to have decent potential to develop into a solid, big-league arm in a few years. For now, however, the Phillies will need to make several more moves to improve their roster heading into the 2021 season. Free agency officially got underway last Sunday.