In 2006, Sánchez played for the Single-A Greensboro Grasshoppers where he batted .317 with 14 home runs in 55 games before a promotion to Triple-A Albuquerque.

In 2008, he batted .314 with 17 home runs and 92 RBI for Double-A Carolina en route to winning the Southern League Most Valuable Player Award.

He had his most successful game so far on June 11 in Interleague play against the Tampa Bay Rays, when he had four hits with two home runs and six RBIs.

He was involved in a bench-clearing brawl in the sixth inning of a 16–10 victory over the Washington Nationals at Sun Life Stadium on September 1, 2010.

The ill will had spilled over from the previous night when Marlins catcher Brett Hayes suffered a dislocated left shoulder as a result of a collision with Nyjer Morgan at home plate.

Sánchez, who ran in from his position at first base to defend his teammate, then applied a right-arm clothesline to bring Morgan to the ground.

[13] On July 31, 2012, Sánchez was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates along with pitcher Kyle Kaminsky for outfielder Gorkys Hernández and a competition balanced 2013 draft pick.

[16] On January 8, 2015, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball announced that they had signed Sánchez to a one-year, $2.5 million, contract.