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(AP Photo) |
Back in October of 2012,
Rubby De La Rosa and
Jerry Sands were sent from the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Boston Red Sox to complete
The Great Punto Deal from the previous August. De La Rosa is still a legitimate star in the Sox pitching constellation. Sands was considered by some to be an "X Factor" in the Sox organization—not just a "player to be named". However—barely two months after donning
Carmine Hose—he was shipped to Pittsburgh (along with others) to fetch the immortal
Joel Hanrahan and
Brock Holt. This year,
Andrew Friedman and
Joe Maddon liked him so much, they snatched him off waivers from the Bucs to play in Tampa. The point is that this once-hot prospect has been a human game of musical chairs over the last few years—briefly touching four different organizations in barely fourteen months. And what are the 26-year old's MLB stats? He's hit a robust .244 in 70 games in
The Show. In the minors? How about .276 with 128 homers? He did hit 35 HRs in 2010, and then produced 29 dingers in 2011 at Triple A. Moreover, he was also
supposed to be a speed demon on the bases, but none of the hype ever materialized in the real world. So, as we talk about the rich vein of prospects in the Red Sox organization—let's pause for a moment and consider the case of Jerry Sands.