Blue Jays righty Aaron Sanchez has undergone surgery on his right index finger, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins announced today and Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca was among those to cover (Twitter links). Precise details are not yet apparent.
Ongoing troubles with the digit, which was injured in a suitcase mishap, plagued Sanchez for much of the season. He did make it back for five final starts late in the season, but wasn’t in top form and left his latest start reporting further problems.
Truth be told, Sanchez has not been at his best for the past two seasons. His 2016 effort seemed like a breakout season, but he has thrown only 141 innings since. Last year, blisters held Sanchez to eight starts. In 2018, he has taken the ball twenty times, but carries only a 4.89 ERA with 7.4 K/9 and 5.0 BB/9 in 105 frames.
The disappointing results and health problems likely won’t keep the Blue Jays from tendering a contract to a pitcher who has long been lauded for his talent. The 26-year-old is earning just $2.7MM this year and won’t command a huge raise heading into his second (and second-to-last) arb-eligible campaign.
In other news, Atkins says that infielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. will not return this season after suffering a hamstring strain. It’s considered a grade 2 strain, Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi tweets, which is a reasonably significant injury but presumably won’t represent much of a stumbling block for the promising young player. Obviously it’s not terribly consequential for him to miss a week of game action; the hope, surely, is that Gurriel will have ample time to rest up before resuming full offseason activities.
You use a lot of adverbs.
You learn something new about yourself every day.
I meant to write down the adjective you used the other day. It described something with unusually good skills, or something like that.
Lolly, lolly, lolly, get your adverbs here….
Young pitching prospects, you just never know. Sanchez’ fingers, Strowman, it’s looking a little like Marcum, McGowan and Litsch again.
Hopefully Aaron can keep the fingers in good health in 2019, and at least one of Reid-Foley or Borucki can move into the middle of the rotation. If not, next year could be rough again.
Really like Gurriel, think he has borderline All-Star potential. Would like to see more walks, but doesn’t strike out a bunch either. Puts ball in play, has power, and a better than average glove.
Could see an eventual move to second when Bo gets to Toronto.
Of course we heard in these pages in spring training that Sanchez finger issues were not behind him and he was not going to be effective in 2018. The suitcase had nothing to do with it. Talk about Jays [and Sanchez/Boras] PR crap.
As I said then, Sanchez has got soft fingers, and the torque on the curve from his delivery schreds that finger. Let’s hope surgery can fix it, but I doubt it.
The only two solutions that I can see is to shelve the curve which he unsuccessfully tried. Without the curve he is a #3 or #4 starter. That means he needs another pitch in addition to the sinker and change up. Split finger might be the way to go.
Another option would be the option I would prefer, is to put him back in the bullpen where I hear limited innings will keep the finger issues at bay.
Agreed jimmertee, Jays could use a back of the pen reliever, move Sanchez into role in 2019, and let’s see if he can hold together for a full year before considering stretching him out again.
Sanchez is starting in 2019. Why? Because the Jays need more starting pitchers and bad starters command too much money. He has next season to shape up or else he just might be forced into the bullpen come 2020.
The Jays and Boras are definitely going to try and start him. Good starters are rare especially front of the rotation guys like he can be if the curve is working.
Sanchez wants to start because of the money. Boras wants him to start because of the money.
It will probably work for a while until the finger starts blowing up again.
Money aside, Jimmer, the Jays have little to lose to give him this shot. If the Jays were contenders they’d have a much different decision to make. Sanchez is fortunate to be in an organization that has wiggleroom for him. Otherwise he’d be on the outside looking in with a road that only leads to the leftfield bullpen.
We saw the market rate for Jaime Garcia last offseason. May as well save the money and have Sanchez start with a AAA guy taking that spot in the event he is injured (Gaviglio, someone else…)