Free agent pitcher Aaron Sanchez threw in front of “about 20 teams” last week, reports Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). This is the first we’ve heard of the right-hander since the Astros non-tendered him in December. He hasn’t pitched since undergoing surgery to address a tear in his right shoulder capsule last September.
Shoulder surgeries can present a difficult road back for pitchers, but Sanchez will be an interesting reclamation project this offseason. He only turned 28 in July, so he’s still got youth on his side. Prior to his injury, Sanchez was working in the 93-94 MPH range with high-end spin on his curveball. Those promising pitch characteristics prompted the Astros to acquire him alongside Joe Biagini from the Blue Jays for Derek Fisher at last year’s trade deadline. That deal almost immediately turned sour for Houston, with Sanchez going down after four starts and Biagini struggling immensely. Neither player remains in the organization.
It’s been a rough few years for the former supplemental first-round draftee. Sanchez looked like one of the top young arms in the sport in 2016, when he made 30 starts with a 3.00 ERA/3.55 FIP for Toronto. Since the start of 2017, he’s managed just a 5.29 ERA across 272.1 innings, thanks mostly to a drastic uptick in walks. Those struggles, combined with the shoulder surgery, will likely limit Sanchez to minor-league offers or perhaps a small one-year deal this winter. There’s little harm for interested teams in giving him an opportunity in spring training, though.
Speculatively speaking, trying him out in the bullpen could be particularly intriguing. For one, shorter stints might give Sanchez a better opportunity to stay healthy. He has also had some difficulty working through opposing lineups multiple times in his career, which a relief role would obviously mitigate.
Giants
yep probably. we might be able to turn him into something
That Sanchez/Biagini for Fisher deal could go down as one of worst trades in MLB history stat wise. Sanchez only started 4 games for HOU and Biagini had a 14 ERA. Fisher really isn’t looking like anything good for the Blue Jays. The most interesting thing he’s done for Toronto is get hit in the face with that popup last year.
At least Sanchez could say he was part of a no hitter I guess.
Wasn’t there a prospect involved along with Sanchez and Biagini? He could maybe be something, I guess.
But yeah, people have wasted a lot of energy overreacting to meaningless trades over the years.
Cal Stevenson, dealt to Tampa in the offseason.
Orioles maybe? They like injured dudes more than my ex girlfriend does.
Lol
He sounds like an Angel already.
Idogg- He will be
Ha! Farhan is sniffing the air and licking his chops!
And what’s wrong with that? Drew Pomewnz turned into Mauricio Dubon and both Drew Smyly and Kevin Gausman were really productive in 2020. Why not take another shot on a reclamation project?
Never said anything wrong with it, I just see it’s coming
winter league teams?
Blister issue for all 2019 too/bleue jays messed it up starter -bullpen – starter
But would be great to take chance For a team whit a good coaching staff
It would be nice if this reporter would do a little investigating and name at least some of the teams. 20 is a lot to show up. I would guess that Dodgers, Astros, Yankees, Indians, White Sox would not be among them. Pretty much the rest of the teams could be. Hopefully we find out eventually.
id be willing to bet any report of “20 teams” is overblown by the player’s agent. no reason for all 30 teams to not send scouts if most of them are. i bet 20 is a number you can throw out there so a few teams speaking to each other saying they didnt go doesnt debunk the number of stated teams overall.
So it isn’t a question of if signing Sanchez is a good idea. Of course it is…MLB experience, looked pretty good when healthy. It’s all a question of cost.
There’s going to be many, many pitchers out in the market this winter; it’s more about balancing the books than assessing the talent.
A reclamation project pitcher with an injury history and the hope of getting back to pre-surgery form?
Welcome to the Angels.
Good for angels or Yanks
He’s picking his Redsox number out as we speak
i hope so
honestly if the guy can keep his darn blister issue under control then he’s worth a look. but really, the tiny issues with blisters and fingernails have to wear on the guy’s team.
The Nationals could use a backup for Joe Ross because I know Austin Voth how he did this year, he probably won’t be that.