Tony Sanchez to join Pirates in New York

Kristy Robinson tweets, and Colin Dunlap confirms, that Tony Sanchez is joining the Pirates in New York. Dunlap says Sanchez will be activated if Russell Martin, who has been dealing with a stiff neck, needs to head to the disabled list.

It would obviously be a shame to lose Martin for a couple weeks or more, but Michael McKenry and Tony Sanchez should still form a good catching tandem. If Sanchez were to make it into a game, it would be his major-league debut. The bar for Sanchez has come down considerably since the Pirates drafted him fourth overall in 2009, and I think most of us would now be reasonably satisfied if he emerged as a solid part-time player. The good news is that, after a decent performance at Indianapolis last year and a solid start to 2013 (.269/.380/.449 in a small sample), he appears poised to become one.

UPDATE: Sanchez is with the Pirates as a taxi squad player. He has not yet been activated.