Pirates 2009 #1 Pick Tony Sanchez Injured In Bar Fight

[Kipper]

Pirates catching prospect Sanchez injured in offseason scuffle

By Rob Biertempfel, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

0131SanchezInsideCAH-a.jpg Tony Sanchez, the Pirates' top catcher prospect, again got into hot water with the team when he sustained a broken jaw in a bar brawl earlier this offseason.

Sources told the Tribune-Review the fight happened about three months ago while Sanchez, 23, was participating in the Florida Instructional League. No police charges were filed.

Sanchez did not return a phone call and text messages from the Tribune-Review. As a policy, Pirates management does not comment even in general terms about player misconduct and discipline.

When asked specifically about Sanchez's incident, assistant general manager Kyle Stark, who oversees player development, said, "Consistent with our approach in off-field matters, we view these as private situations for the player and not our place to comment."

General manager Neal Huntington also refused to elaborate.

"Tony continues to develop as a player," Huntington said. "As with any young player, there are good days and days when we need to make adjustments. We are expecting Tony to come into spring training ready to go and ready to have a great season."

Sanchez appeared to be fully healthy three weeks ago as he worked out at the team's minicamp in Bradenton, Fla. Sanchez will be a non-roster invitee in spring training camp, which begins Feb. 19.

Baseball America rated Sanchez the Pirates' seventh-best prospect this year. He was the team's first-round draft pick (fourth overall) in 2009 and signed for $2.5 million.

Sanchez missed most of the 2010 season after he was twice hit by pitches that broke his jaw. Last season, he got off to a slow start and batted .241. He also regressed defensively.

"Tony has dealt with some adversity in his career," Huntington said.

In May, Sanchez drew the ire of the Pirates and the Double-A Eastern League by posting critical comments about an umpire on Twitter. Sanchez was benched for three games and also deactivated his Twitter account.



Read more: Pirates catching prospect Sanchez injured in offseason scuffle - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt...#ixzz1l4i6xsA9

[jleisele58]

i dont feel good about a catcher who loses bar fights...just saying

[Kipper]

i dont feel good about a catcher who loses bar fights...just saying

Me either

[Steelreign]

He is definitely not doing himself any favors by drawing negative attention to himself like he has. He better have himself a solid season to help the organization forget about the bar fight and tweets.

[LeeFoo]

How does one put on 10 lbs of muscle during the time he broke his jaw AGAIN? Hard to frikkin chew with a broken jaw.

Since Beer Temple is the only one reporting this, I find it somewhat suspect.