Padres Land Cuban Elier Sanchez

The Padres continue to expand their international presence and are now starting to see some wins. Monday they signed left-handed pitcher Elier Sanchez out of Cuba to a minor league contract though it did not come with an invite to Spring Training with the Padres in Peoria. He will join other minor league pitchers in early March.

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Sanchez is 29 years old and has a reputation as a strike-thower who throws in the low 90’s with a variety of arm angles. He pitched for Cuba in the 2008 Bejing Olympic Games where Cuba placed second. It was the last year of baseball in the Olympics, and Sanchez was the winning pitcher in his start tossing 7 scoreless innings against Chinese Taipei.

Terms of the deal have not been released but it seems like a relatively low risk play for the Padres. At 29, Sanchez should be in his prime but the Padres can’t afford to lose too much time where he isn’t contributing at the major league level. Though he has been a starter in the past, he will likely project as a reliever to start with at least until he adjusts to Major League hitters.

Cuba has a strong history of bringing pitchers into MLB, starting with 1997 World Series MVP Livan Hernandez and continuing with his brother Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez. Jose Contreras was an All Star with the White Sox in 2006 en route to helping them win the World Series.

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The Padres recently traded their own Cuban pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne, who came close to a no hitter for the Padres in 2014 but was unable to find the same magic last season as a starter or reliever. He was shipped to Baltimore as it seemed the league figured out his arm angles and change of pace. The Padres are hoping that Sanchez will be able to be a successful member of the team and continue to make San Diego a destination for other international free agents.