Freddy Sanchez Pack Your Bags

It appears, Pirates fans, that Freddy Sanchez has played his last game in a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform. The ever popular second baseman, who has been nursing a sore back has been the subject of plenty of trade rumors in the last couple of days. It appears the Colorado Rockies have taken the lead in the Sanchez sweepstakes, with the San Francisco Giants still in the mix. he has pretty much been removed from the team and is awaiting a final deal. Sanchez will definitely not be in the lineup during the Philadelphia series.

Sanchez's performance option will be reached this season by reaching 600 at bats, which will trigger his player option. The Bucs don't want to have to pay Sanchez the 8 plus million dollars he will be set to earn next season. If Colorado is the destination, I'm told the Bucs love Eric Young Jr. and so do I. this would make sense because the Bucs are thin up the middle throughout the organization.

Where ever the destination for Sanchez, Pirates GM Neil Huntington needs to cash in on this trade. Sanchez and reliever Matt Capps are the last two chips that can bring in a good return. Huntington can't miss with this deal. I am having a hard time figuring out why the Rocks would want Sanchez. Clint Barmes, the Rockies current second baseman has the same amount of extra base hits as Sanchez and is better defensively. One option could have the Rockies dealing Garrett Atkins for pitching and move Sanchez to third base.

This could also be an opportunity for the Bucs to package Ian Snell in a deal. After looking tremendous in two AAA starts, Snell may have a bit of trade value left and it would be a good opportunity to get rid of Snell's contract. The Rockies were one of the teams that had interest in Snell before his demotion.

With his third trade this month, Huntington assures himself to become the least popular person in the city of Pittsburgh, but it's a move the Pirates need to make to strengthen the organization.