After the tragic death of Roberto Clemente before the 1973 season, the Pirates slated Sanguillen to take Clemente's place in right field. By mid-June, it was apparent that Sanguillen couldn't adapt to playing the outfield and he was moved back to the catcher's position. Sanguillen had another strong year in 1975, when he posted a .328 batting average, third in the National League batting championship behind Bill Madlock and Ted Simmons. In 1977, Sanguillen was traded by the Pirates to the Oakland Athletics for the services of then-A's manager Chuck Tanner and $100,000 as a settlement of Tanner's contract with the A's.