Twins release Anibal Sanchez

Well guys, the Anibal Sanchez experiment has officially come to an end. The Twins announced this morning that they released the right-hander this morning to make room on the 40-man roster for new signee Lance Lynn.

I was initially very confused about the Anibal Sanchez signing mostly due to the fact it was an actual, major-league deal. That means he takes up a spot on the 40-man roster and everything. In fact, giving Sanchez a spot of the 40-ma roster might have been what enticed him to sign with the Twins in the first place, and now it seems, it may have been his undoing. Had Sanchez signed a minor league contract (and thereby not taken up a spot on the 40-man roster), he could have just stayed in Twins camp and vied for a spot on the Opening Day roster. Heck, Sanchez was supposed to start today’s spring training game against the Rays (Aaron Slegers is starting now instead).

I guess that’s the way the cookie crumbles sometimes, if you’re out there demanding a spot on a 40-man roster. This is especially the case if you’re Anibal Sanchez, who hasn’t been doing that great. Over just 4.0 innings he pitched for the Twins in spring training, Sanchez gave up six earned runs on five hits. Yikes.

Although I feel a bit bad for Sanchez, I really probably shouldn’t. Lance Lynn over Sanchez is a gigantic upgrade.