Rule 5 Decisions: Juan Sanchez

The once and future lefty

Photo Credit: Mick Anders | Richmond Flying Squirrels

For the next couple of weeks, we’ll be examining the major cases of Rule 5 protection candidates, to see who the Giants might choose to add to the 40-man roster this year. The Rule 5 protection deadline this year is November 19. So far in the Rule 5 Decisions series, we’ve looked at:

• Setting Up

• Diego Velasquez

• Will Bednar

• Nate Furman

• Gerelmi Maldonado

• Jack Choate

• Marques Johnson

No player in the Giants organization has hovered around the periphery of Rule 5 discussions longer than Juan Sanchez. Nobody has been part of this organization longer without being added to the 40-man — indeed, the number of players who have been Giants for longer than Sanchez is astonishingly brief. Logan Webb, drafted way back in 2014, is by far the Dean of this organization. But nobody else currently active can claim much longer history with this organization than Sanchez.

Oh, Matt Gage was also a member of the 2014 draft, so in a way he pre-dates Sanchez. But he was released back in 2018, when Sanchez was first getting underway in the DSL. Heliot Ramos technically has an advantage, as he signed his first contract 11 days before Sanchez inked his — and, of course, Ramos’ playing career started earlier, as international signees back in those days didn’t make their official debut until the following year, playing camp games in the old “Tricky League” until then. Randy Rodriguez’s signing date is identical to Sanchez’s: July 2, 2017. The rest of that class — Luis Toribio, Jean Peña, Ivan Armstrong, José Cruz, and others — are all gone. Toribio made the seven years to minor league free agency. Armstrong was used in trade, and is still bouncing around the minor leagues (I saw him play with the Nationals’ Double-A squad this year). Cruz was protected from the Rule 5 draft three years ago, but then dropped off the roster again. The rest were released somewhere along the way.

But Sanchez remains. Four years after he first became eligible for the Rule 5 draft (indeed, this isn’t the first time he’s featured in one of my Rule 5 series). Two years after a showing in spring training that very nearly got him an opening day assignment. Since then, he’s gone through Tommy John surgery, and signed a highly unusual two-year minor league deal to remain with the only organization he’s ever known. And now, returning to action in the Arizona Fall League, he’s once again on the precipice of earning a big league assignment, as he prepares to enter his 10th year as in this organization — hoping against hope that this is finally the one where he gets to call himself a San Francisco Giant.