Is Anibal Sanchez the Next Dodger Target?

Even after inking Zack Greinke to a mammoth contract yesterday, the Dodgers may not be content to stop throwing their seemingly endless money around. If the organization is unable to come to an agreement with Japanese import Ryu-Hyun Jin, whom they won the right to negotiate with by bidding $25.7 million last month, they may instead turn their attention to Anibal Sanchez according to Jim Bowden of ESPN.

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Sanchez, 28, is arguably the top pitcher remaining on the free agent market with Greinke out of the way, and is reportedly looking for a deal worth around $90 million over six years. Obviously, all of this is speculation, but the Dodgers have proven not to be worried about anything related to finances, so it’s not at all an impossible development. However, Bowden did go on to state that he felt confident the team would work something out with Ryu.

While Sanchez is not up to Zack Greinke’s standards, he could be a very good consolation prize for a team who missed out on Greinke, or simply a cheaper alternative for those who weren’t willing to pay for Greinke’s services. The former Marlin and Tiger has now posted three consecutive seasons of very consistent 4.0 WAR range production, and as he’s still in his prime, this is a reasonable expectation for the next handful of seasons as well.

The right-hander from Venezuela has come a long way as a pitcher since making headlines for throwing a no-hitter in his rookie season, and is now a very solid option near the top of the rotation for just about any team in baseball, even if he has yet to establish himself as a true number one starter. It’s possible he still has a new level of performance to reach in the coming seasons, but even if he merely levels off instead, he’s still a relatively safe investment — as safe as any pitcher can be, anyway.

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