Royals send OF Cabrera to Giants for LHP Sanchez

 KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)—The Royals traded outfielder Melky Cabrera to the San Francisco Giants for left-hander Jonathan Sanchez on Monday, upgrading their rotation and clearing the way for hotshot prospect Lorenzo Cain to get a chance in center field.It was the second significant trade involving a starter this offseason. The Atlanta Braves shipped Derek Lowe to the Cleveland Indians last week.The Royals also received Double-A pitcher Ryan Verdugo in the deal.With a young lineup and plenty of talent still in the minor league system, Royals general manager Dayton Moore was willing to part with Cabrera to fill his biggest need: starting pitching.“He’s a very dynamic left-handed pitcher,” Moore said. “His hit rates are very low, his strikeout rates are very high, his walks aren’t something we’re overly excited about, but at the same time he’s very young. He’s somebody our scouts feel is a breakout candidate moving forward into 2012.”The subject of trade speculation for several years, Sanchez threw a no-hitter on July 10, 2009, against San Diego. Only an error by third baseman Juan Uribe kept it from being a perfect game.Giants general manager Brian Sabean said he was never close to moving Sanchez in the past put him on the trading block after the season in hopes of finding a player to bolster an offense that finished last in the NL in runs.“In this case given the player available and our acute need for more offense, this was the time to cross the bridge,” Sabean said. “We weren’t exactly sure a player like this would be available. We put Sanchez’s name out at the end of the season, and this was the best match.”Despite the emergence of former No. 1 draft pick Luke Hochevar and rookie Danny Duffy, the Royals’ starters still logged the third-fewest innings of any staff in the American League. Their combined 4.45 ERA was also the third-worst in the AL, ahead of only Minnesota and Baltimore.Sanchez was the Giants’ best pitcher during the latter part of 2010, when they beat the Texas Rangers to win the World Series. He was 4-1 with a 1.03 ERA over his last seven outings, and finished the year with a 13-9 record and a 3.07 ERA.