Cubs Rumors: Jonathan Sanchez On Team's Radar

Mark Gonzales of the Tribune has the latest rumor for us:

The Chicago Cubs are one of several teams interested in signing free agent left-hander Jonathan Sanchez.

The Cubs envision Sanchez as a reliever, according to a source. Several other teams interested in Sanchez prefer to employ him as a starter -- a role that Sanchez has performed for most of his career.

Sanchez has limited left-handed batters to a .218 batting average.

Sanchez, 31, threw a no-hitter in 2009 and won 13 games for the Giants in 2010 but has been hampered by control problems. Sanchez has pitched for the Rockies, Royals and Pirates.

It's more than just "control problems" -- Sanchez had a WHIP over 2.0 in limited major-league play in 2012 and 2013, and a lot of that was just getting hit hard. Gonzales' article indicates that Sanchez touched 95 miles per hour when he was pitching for Triple-A Albuquerque in the Dodgers' organization in 2013. That's great, but his 5.13 ERA and 1.71 WHIP in Triple-A don't scream out "Major League Starter" to me.

As a reliever, maybe. If other teams are looking at him as a starter, I'd say the Cubs would likely take a pass. What do you think?