You’ve seen these trades before. The ones that barely make a blip on the transaction wire. The ones that don’t get a breaking-news alert. The ones that you only remember years later when someone asks:
“Wait … how did the Phillies get Cristopher Sánchez again?”
Oh, just a minor deal on a random November afternoon in 2019. Nothing to see here, right? All the Phillies did was send a teenage infielder named Curtis Mead to Tampa Bay in exchange for a left-handed pitcher who—let’s be honest—wasn’t exactly the second coming of Steve Carlton at the time.
Sánchez was 22 years old, barely had a cup of coffee above A-ball, and had walked almost as many batters as he’d struck out over his minor-league career. The Rays, known for their magical ability to turn random guys into stars, thought they had an undervalued bat in Mead. The Phillies, meanwhile, thought maybe they had a future lefty bullpen piece.
Fast forward five years.
Sánchez isn’t a lefty reliever. He’s a top-of-the-rotation arm. He’s an All-Star. He’s a guy getting Cy Young votes. And if he keeps trending this way, that four-year, $22.5 million extension the Phillies gave him last summer might be one of the biggest steals in baseball.
The Leap
Want to know how much Sánchez has changed since that trade? Let’s do some numbers.
In 2023, his fastball averaged 92.1 mph.
In 2024? It jumped to 94.5 mph.
In 2025 spring training? He’s sitting at 96 mph.
That’s not just an improvement—it’s a different pitcher.
And it’s not just the velocity. The Phillies got a glimpse of what Sánchez could be in 2023, but in 2024, he put it all together. He finished seventh in baseball in fWAR among pitchers. He threw 181 2/3 innings with a 3.32 ERA. He struck out 153 batters and walked just 37. Oh, and he got Cy Young votes for the first time.
But here’s the most Phillies part of it all: This guy, who might just be the most improved pitcher in baseball, still has six more years under team control—including those deliciously affordable 2029 and 2030 club options.
In 2025 spring training? He’s sitting at 96 mph.
That’s not just an improvement—it’s a different pitcher.
And it’s not just the velocity. The Phillies got a glimpse of what Sánchez could be in 2023, but in 2024, he put it all together. He finished seventh in baseball in fWAR among pitchers. He threw 181 2/3 innings with a 3.32 ERA. He struck out 153 batters and walked just 37. Oh, and he got Cy Young votes for the first time.
But here’s the most Phillies part of it all: This guy, who might just be the most improved pitcher in baseball, still has six more years under team control—including those deliciously affordable 2029 and 2030 club options.
And now … the next step
So what does Sánchez do for an encore? Well, how about adding a cutter to his arsenal?
Yep, that’s happening. Sánchez has thrived with his three-pitch mix—his signature sinker, a nasty changeup, and a slider that makes hitters look foolish. But now, he’s mixing in a fourth weapon. Combine that with his increased velocity, and suddenly we’re looking at a guy whose profile starts to resemble some of the best left-handers in baseball—Tarik Skubal? Cole Ragans? That tier isn’t out of the question.
So what looked like a throwaway trade in 2019? Yeah, that one’s aged pretty well.
And Curtis Mead? He’s still in Tampa, trying to break through. Maybe he will. Maybe he won’t. But here’s what we do know: The Phillies found a foundational piece for their rotation. And they did it in a deal almost nobody noticed—until they had no choice but to notice.
