Yesterday, the White Sox scratched catcher Kevan Smith with a back spasm. Today, they put him on the 15 day DL today with a sacroiliac joint dysfunction. To take his place on the roster, the White Sox purchased the contract of catcher Hector Sanchez from Charlotte.
Unlike Smith who was set to make his major league debut, Sanchez has played parts of the previous five seasons with the San Francisco Giants. Over 244 games played, the switch hitting Sanchez has hit .240/.274/.345 in the majors. In eight games at Charlotte this season, he's gone 4 for 28 with a double and two home runs.
Defensively, he's been pretty average. After a quick glance over at Baseball Prospectus, it shows his framing (CSAA) has been a tiny bit below average, blocking (EPAA) is essentially average, and dealing with would be base stealers (SRAA and TRAA) are just a bit above average. So, fortunately, he shouldn't hurt the Sox at all behind the plate.
In the minors, things at the catching position might be a bit thin. Long time Brewers farmhand Vinny Rotino has had two straight starts at catcher for Charlotte over the past few days after seeing nothing but the outfield with the Sox this spring. Omar Navaez has been promoted to Charlotte today to fill Sanchez's spot.
With Sanchez added to the 40-man roster, the 40-man roster is now at 39.