Anibal Sanchez suffered a left hamstring strain that forced him out of today’s start in the second inning, and Nationals manager Davey Martinez told reporters (including Sam Fortier of the Washington Post) that Sanchez is headed for the injured list. This will keep Sanchez out of action for at least one start, though the veteran righty will undergo an MRI tomorrow to determine the extent of the hamstring problem.
Today’s news only adds to what has been a rough start to Sanchez’s stint with the Nationals, as he has managed only a 5.10 ERA over 42 1/3 innings with the club. Following a nice bounce-back year with Atlanta in 2018, Sanchez inked a two-year, $19MM free agent deal with Washington in December, but has thus far struggled to replicate his success from last season.
Sanchez is allowing significant less soft contact in 2019 than he did in 2018, and he has also displayed an uncharacteristic lack of control. Sanchez’s 5.31 BB/9 would be a career high over a full season, far exceeding his 2.7 BB/9 from 2010-18.
The Nationals have already been hit hard with injuries this season, and now have yet another hole to fill with Sanchez set to miss time. Erick Fedde would seem like the most logical candidate to start while Sanchez is out, though Martinez only said that the club was still discussing its options. While Fedde has a history as a starting pitcher, the Nats have been using him as a reliever this season, and a jump back to the rotation could disrupt that has thus far been a solid transition to the bullpen. Fedde allowed four runs to the Mets over 2 2/3 innings today, though he hadn’t allowed a run in eight innings prior to today’s rough outings.
thought he retired
For 3 years he was one of the worst contracts in baseball. Cant believe the Nats thought it was a good idea to throw 19 mil at him
What he did with the Braves was very curious, really, but how they expected him to stay healthy over two years is a real-head scratcher.
He had a hamstring issue or strain last season w/ the Braves also. It happened during pregame warmups and of course they replayed it several times and it was cringie to say the least. After his IL stint and rehab assignment he pitched quite well, so maybe he can capture that mojo once again. Easier said than done.
In my opinion he wasn’t worried about living up to the the expectations that come with a large contract or on a team built to win so to speak, or Three Aces to compete with. It looked as if he was enjoying himself being the leader/mentor and having fun doing so. Julio Teheran benefited the most it seems and it’s paying off this season.
Good luck to him (except when he’s pitching against the Braves lol) he was well liked by his teammates.