Giants end Jonathan Sanchez experiment

Brian Sabean finally did it.

He finally dealt inconsistent starter Jonathan Sanchez, acquiring center fielder Melky Cabrera from the Royals.

Sanchez showed promise, twirling a no-hitter in 2009 against the Padres. But for the most part, his six seasons with the Giants were a disappointment. Much was expected of the lefty that Baseball America ranked as the #6 prospect in the Giants system coming into the 2006 season and #2 prospect (behind Tim Lincecum) prior to the 2007 season. He leaves the Giants with a 38-46 career record.

But Sanchez never lived up to the hype. He frustrated Giants fans to no end. For every ten-strikeout gem, there were two five-walk disasters. You never knew which version of Sanchez would show up on any given start.

During the Giants run to the World Series in 2010, Sanchez spoke like an ace, but didn’t pitch like one.  In August, the Giants were chasing the Padres and heading into a big series against the Friars, Sanchez boldly stated that the Giants would sweep the series and never look back. Sanchez took the ball in the first game of the series but couldn’t back up him words, only going 5 1/3 innings and taking the loss.

It was time for the Giants to move on. The emergence of Madison Bumgarner and Ryan Vogelsong made Sanchez expendable. Sabean was able to use a surplus arm to fill two major holes: centerfield and leadoff hitter. This is a steal of a deal for Sabean and the Giants.

For now, Sanchez takes his talents (or lack thereof) to Kansas City, a rebuilding team looking for anyone with a heartbeat to fill out their rotation.