The grades are starting to roll in on one of the first trades of this MLB offseason and the Kansas City Royals are mostly earning decent to good scores for their acquisition of pitchers Jonathan Sanchez and Ryan Verdugo from the San Francisco Giants for centerfielder Melky Cabrera. Jim Bowden of ESPN, and the former general manager of the Cincinnati Reds, says that the move is a risk worth taking for the Royals given that the rewards have looked so good in the past.
"The Giants are set in the rotation with Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Ryan Vogelsong, so Sanchez became expendable. The Royals are desperate for starting pitching and the risk/reward with an arm like Sanchez is worth it. And this is a huge upgrade in the rotation for the Royals if Sanchez can even come close to duplicating the success he had in 2010 when he went 13-9 with a 3.07 ERA and 205 strikeouts. When he has control, he can easily be a No. 2 starter. And at 28, Sanchez still has time to rectify the control problems that have plagued his career"
In the end, he gives the Royals a B+ and also likes the Giants side to a lesser extent, giving them a B-.