The White Sox still haven’t officially announced that they are putting Yolmer Sanchez on waivers, but both parties are talking about the move in the past tense.
Sanchez posted to his Instagram feed on Wednesday morning with what sure sounded like a goodbye message.
“Nothing to feel upset about but I have a lot to be thankful for,” Sanchez’s message read. “There is no time to be sad. There is still a long way to go, to get up and keep my head up.”
Sanchez just won a Gold Glove, which was arguably the highlight of his MLB career to this point. Three weeks later he is without a team for the first time in his career.
He will get another shot somewhere else, but the emotional ride can’t be easy for Sanchez. White Sox manager Rick Renteria said as much to reporters on Tuesday for a Thanksgiving charity event at Mercy Home for Boys and Girls in West Loop.
MLB
“This kid is an outstanding, for me, a personality, player, glove, knows how to play the game,” Renteria said. “Can do little things to help you win. I know there are certain numbers and indicators and metrics that people look at that say what he is and what he isn’t. If you just close your eyes or just watch, just watch him play and see the things that he does out there to help you on a daily basis.
“He’s going to help somebody. Maybe it’s us still, but he’s still going to help somebody win some ball games. I know that part of his defense was the reason we had a lot of the successes that we did have last year.”
Renteria’s “he’s going to help somebody” line is the first acknowledgement from the White Sox of Sanchez’s departure. He also left the door open for Sanchez to return, although Sanchez can probably land a better opportunity elsewhere.
The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported later on Wednesday that Sanchez cleared waivers, making him a free agent.
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