It appears the overall consensus is that this was a good trade for the Royals. Joe Sheehan, in his newsletter, made the point that in the last two years, Melky Cabrera has been traded for a solid #2 starter (Javy Vasquez) then outright released and now traded for a possible back of the rotation guy (with huge upside according to many) like Sanchez. His point was even within the game, there's still an incredible over-reaction to last year's data. Sheehan isn't a huge Moore guy, but implicit in that analysis is that Moore's two Melky-related moves were good deals.
As far as I can tell, I'm just about the most negative evaluator of this trade out there, which is fine and maybe predictable. I don't hate the trade, I just don't love it. The structure of the trade is solid: moving roster excess in the OF to address a need in the rotation. However, I have big doubts about Sanchez being much more than back of the rotation filler in the AL, and given that he's a FA after 2012, there's no long-term gain. At the point at which Melky was traded in November, you have to wonder if this is the best the Royals could do. As I said on the day of the trade, I think I'd rather have had the trade be for two Verdugo-esque players than Verdugo+Sanchez.
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- Melky for Jonathan: Knee-Jerk Analysis - McCovey Chronicles
- Royals Starting Pitching Acquisition: Jonathan Sanchez - Royals Review
- Rany on the Royals: For Want Of A Pitcher: Jonathan Sanchez.
- Jonathan Sanchez Isn’t As Good As His K% | FanGraphs Baseball