Jonathan Sanchez

The Royals and Rockies exchanged struggling starting pitchers on Friday, as Kansas City sent Jonathan Sanchez to the Rockies for righty Jeremy Guthrie.

The Royals certainly got the short end of the deal in their trade for Sanchez last offseason, as they only got the then-promising lefty and prospect Ryan Verdugo in exchange for Melky Cabrera, the Giants’ All-Star Game MVP. Cabrera has a .357 batting average with a .529 slugging percentage in 88 games this season with San Francisco, while Sanchez is 1-6 with a 7.76 ERA in 12 starts.

The 29-year-old starter has not lived up to the potential he showed with the Giants, when he completed a no-hitter in 2009 and recorded 11 strikeouts in Game 3 of the NLDS in 2010.

Sanchez had been designated for assignment by the Royals on July 17, after allowing seven runs in 1 1/3 innings against the Mariners the day before.

Guthrie has not been doing much better for the Rockies this season, recording a 3-9 record with a 6.35 ERA. Like Sanchez, Guthrie was part of a trade that can be viewed as lopsided in hindsight, as he was acquired from the Orioles for Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom in the offseason.

Hammel has been one of the Orioles’ best pitchers this year, as he has an 8-6 record and 106 strikeouts with a 3.54 ERA in 18 starts. Lindstrom has not been bad for the Orioles, either, recording a 2.53 ERA with a 1-0 record in 21 relief appearances.

Guthrie has allowed 21 home runs in his 19 appearances this season, 15 of which were starts. In those 15 starts, the 33-year-old righty has only lasted six innings seven times, and allowed more than five runs in six of those outings.

The former Indians and Orioles starter now will join his fourth team in his career. He has a 50-74 record over his nine seasons.