Among those clubs is the Marlins, who parted ways with manager Skip Schumaker when the 2024 season came to a close in a long-anticipated move that will allow president of baseball operations Peter Bendix to select his own manager for the first time after replacing Kim Ng at the head of Miami’s baseball operations last offseason. While Schumaker has generally been regarded as among the most attractive potential managerial candidates available this winter, the Marlins will have to look elsewhere to replace the 2023 NL Manager of the Year, and their new manager will have a tall task after the club initiated a complete overhaul of their coaching staff that the club’s new skipper figures to pilot.

While the Marlins have surely already begun their managerial search, the club has not yet been reported to have interest in any possible names for the job. That being said, there’s at least one candidate who has seeming thrown his hat into the ring: 16-year MLB veteran Anibal Sanchez, who pitched for the Marlins from his big league debut in 2006 through the first half of the 2012 season. Sanchez, who officially retired back in 2023, has no affiliated coaching experience but has previously expressed interest in coaching or managing in the majors at some point in the future.

Even so, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported yesterday that the long-time hurler has reached out to the team to convey interest in the position. It would be something of a shock if the Marlins decided to hire Sanchez, however. The 40-year-old, as previously mentioned, has no significant coaching or managerial experience. That’s not always an obstacle to hiring a manager, of course; David Ross was hired to helm the club’s dugout following the 2019 season just three seasons after he retired and without any significant coaching experience on his resume. With that being said, Ross had strong ties to then-president of baseball operations Theo Epstein. There is no such clear connection between Sanchez and Bendix, who spent his entire career prior to joining the Marlins in a Rays organization that Sanchez never pitched for.

Other notes from around the league…

• Looking toward upper management, the Twins recently made waves when longtime GM Thad Levine, who has served as the #2 to chief baseball officer Derek Falvey throughout Falvey’s entire tenure in Minnesota, stepped down from his role with the club in order to pursue other opportunities. With Falvey and manager Rocco Baldelli both set to remain in their positions for 2025, Levine represents the most significant departure from club management on the heels of a disappointing season where the Twins missed the playoffs following a massive collapse in September. Levine recently commented on his departure (as relayed by Phil Miller of the Minnesota Star Tribune) and emphasized that he’s parting ways with the club on good terms. “I kind of liken myself to Mary Poppins — the kids know how to clean up their rooms now and take their medicine,” Levine told reporters, including Miller. “They don’t need someone singing in the background to do it.” Notably, Levine has been a candidate for top baseball operations jobs in recent years, including the Red Sox chief baseball officer position for which he was a finalist last winter.
• Turning even further up the food chain to comments from ownership, Angels owner Arte Moreno has at times indicated an openness to selling the franchise in the past. In 2022, the now-78-year-old went as far as to announce the exploration of a possible sale, though it was just a few months later that he seemingly changed his mind and took his franchise of the market. Back in February, Moreno indicated that he plans to continue his ownership “long-term” and had previously rebuffed potential buyers, insisting the club was off the market. In a phone interview with Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register this afternoon, however, Moreno indicated the door for a potential sale my not be fully closed. “I can’t tell you about the future,” Moreno said (as relayed by Fletcher) “If someone makes some stupid, crazy offer, I’ve got to do what’s best for the family. I do the best I can to run it as a business.” While it seems unlikely that a sale will ultimately come together given the fact that Moreno seemingly set the bar at a “crazy offer” in order to get a deal done, the comments are still nonetheless a notable shift in tone from just eight months ago for the longtime owner.

“Throughout these past 17 years in Major League Baseball, God has given me the opportunity to live wonderful moments on and off the field,” Sánchez wrote. “Baseball has been my great passion since I was a child, and I am extremely grateful to have been able to make that dream a reality.” He goes on to thank his teammates, coaches, managers, scouts, franchise owners and agents at Mato Sports Management, as well as his family, friends and the fans who supported him along the way.

“Today begins a new chapter where I hang up the glove and uniform to pursue my other passions,” Sánchez concluded. “I retire as a major league player; however, I will always be close to the sport I love. See you soon.”

Sánchez began his professional career with the Red Sox as an amateur signee out of Venezuela during the 2000-01 international period. Within a few years, he pitched his way to Double-A and rated as one of the top pitching prospects in the Boston system. Over the 2005-06 offseason, the Sox dealt him alongside Hanley Ramírez and two more minor leaguers to the Marlins to bring in ace Josh Beckett.

Florida called him to the majors for the first time the following June. Sánchez hit the ground running as a 22-year-old, tossing 114 1/3 innings of 2.83 ERA ball over his first 18 appearances. He threw a no-hitter in just his 13th career start, completing the feat in a six strikeout outing against the Diamondbacks that September. Sánchez finished that year ninth in NL Rookie of the Year voting.

Injuries dogged the right-hander over the next few seasons. He didn’t make more than 16 starts in any of the three years between 2007-09. Fortunately, he returned to health for his first full big league campaign in 2010. Sánchez would make 32 starts with a sub-4.00 ERA in both 2010 and ’11. He was on that pace again in 2012, working to a 3.94 ERA over 19 starts as an impending free agent for a noncompetitive Miami team. The Tigers acquired him in a deadline blockbuster, adding Sánchez and second baseman Omar Infante for a package headlined by former first round pick Jacob Turner.

Sánchez was excellent down the stretch to help Detroit to an AL Central title. He pitched three quality starts in as many outings during that year’s postseason, helping the Tigers to a pennant. The Tigers brought him back on a five-year free agent deal with an $80MM guarantee over the offseason.

Detroit was immediately rewarded with the best season of Sánchez’s career. He worked 182 innings of 2.57 ERA ball over 29 starts. He won the AL ERA title and topped the Junior Circuit with a 2.39 FIP. Sánchez finished fourth in Cy Young balloting and helped the club to a repeat division title. The Tigers came up a round short of the World Series that time around, though Sánchez contributed 12 innings of four-run ball during the AL Championship Series.

The veteran hurler turned in another productive showing in 2014, working to a 3.43 ERA in 126 frames on another division-winning Detroit team. His production fell off thereafter, as his ERA jumped each season between 2015-17. He finished his Detroit tenure with a 6.41 season that led them to decline a 2018 club option. Sánchez made an unexpected resurgence upon landing with the Braves on a minor league deal in 2018. He cracked the MLB club and provided Atlanta a 2.83 ERA over 136 2/3 innings to help them to an NL East title.

That rebound earned Sánchez a multi-year contract in his return trip to free agency. He jumped to the Nationals on a two-year, $19MM pact that paid off incredibly in the first season. He made 30 starts with a 3.85 ERA in the regular season. The Nats made the playoffs as a Wild Card club and embarked on a run to the first championship in franchise history. Sánchez was a productive contributor as the #4 starter, highlighted by 7 2/3 scoreless innings to stake Washington to a series lead against the Cardinals in the first game of the NLCS.

Sánchez posted middling numbers during the shortened season and sat out 2021 entirely. He returned last year on another run with a now-rebuilding Washington club, turning in a 4.28 ERA in 14 outings. It was a respectable finish to a lengthy, accomplished run at the highest level.

All told, Sánchez leaves the game with a 4.06 ERA in a little more than 2000 big league innings. He had seven seasons with 100+ innings and fewer than four earned runs per nine. Sánchez won 116 games and struck out a little under 1800 hitters. He chipped in a 2.93 ERA through 61 1/3 postseason innings across three franchises, helping two teams to a pennant and one to a championship. Baseball Reference valued his career around 28 wins above replacement, while FanGraphs pegged him closer to 31 WAR. He banked just over $103MM in earnings.

Congratulations to Sánchez on an excellent career and all the best in his post-playing days.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Even at a relatively quiet portion of the season, there remain a handful of notable players on the free agent market. Gary Sánchez just came off the board on a minor league deal last week, for instance. Which other players — many of whom are late-career former stars — could still find interest as depth options, particularly if they’re amenable to a minor league contract?

Miguel Sanó

Sanó had a disastrous 2022 season. Right knee troubles kept him to 20 games and 71 plate appearances, in which he hit .083/.211/.133 with only one home run. That ended his time with the Twins, who made the obvious call to buy him out of a club option, but he’s only a year removed from hitting 30 homers. Sanó has topped 25 longballs on four occasions in his career. He won’t turn 30 until next month, making him one of the younger players who didn’t sign over the offseason. Sanó reportedly held a showcase for scouts in early February but there was no publicly reported interest from any teams thereafter.

Chris Archer

Like Sanó, Archer spent the 2022 season in Minnesota but was bought out at year’s end. He tossed 102 2/3 innings across 25 outings, posting a 4.56 ERA with a modest 19.2% strikeout rate and an elevated 11% walk percentage. It was the most hittable Archer has been in his career, but he still averaged 93 MPH on his four-seam and 88.7 MPH on his slider. He’s clearly not the upper mid-rotation arm he was when he made two All-Star games during his time with the Rays, but he’s probably the top unsigned starting pitcher. Archer hasn’t been substantively linked to any team since being cut loose by Minnesota in November. Last month, Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote that Archer had conducted a showcase for teams, though it isn’t clear when that workout occurred.

Darin Ruf

Released by the Mets earlier this week, Ruf is a right-handed hitter who has typically been an effective platoon first base/corner outfield option of late. He mashed at a .271/.385/.519 clip two years ago. At last summer’s deadline, he was carrying a .216/.328/.373 line over 90 games for the Giants. New York acquired him for a four-player package including J.D. Davis and Thomas Szapucki. Ruf’s production cratered in Queens but he’s not far removed from being a well-regarded offensive player.

Stephen Piscotty

Piscotty has tallied over 2800 MLB plate appearances split between the Cardinals and A’s. An above-average hitter through his first four seasons, he’s struggled significantly in the last four years. Piscotty was released by Oakland last summer and didn’t return to the majors after signing a minor league deal with the Reds. He caught on with the Giants and collected eight hits in 25 at-bats (.320/.370/.440) but didn’t land a job out of camp. San Francisco granted him his release on Opening Day.

Zack Britton

Britton was arguably the sport’s most dominant reliever during his halcyon days in Baltimore. He remained an elite ground-ball artist for much of his time with the Yankees, excelling in high-leverage innings through 2020. Poor health has intervened in the last two years. Britton spent time on the injured list with elbow concerns in 2021, struggling when able to take the mound. He eventually required Tommy John surgery, which wiped out virtually all of the ’22 season. Britton returned at the tail end of the season but couldn’t find the strike zone and was shut back down. He’s thrown multiple showcases in recent months.

Ken Giles

Much of what applies to Britton is also true of Giles. They’re different pitchers stylistically — Giles is a right-hander whose best days were fueled by huge strikeout tallies instead of grounders — but he’s also a formerly elite reliever who has fallen on hard times from a health perspective. Giles also required Tommy John surgery. His procedure came late in 2020 and cost him all of the ’21 campaign. He returned to the majors with the Mariners last summer and was let go after five appearances. Giles also worked out for clubs late in the offseason but has yet to put pen to paper.

Corey Knebel

Continuing with the run on relievers, Knebel is a former All-Star closer in his own right. He wasn’t as dominant as either Britton or Giles at his peak, and his career has frequently been interrupted by injury. Knebel was very productive as recently as 2021, when he posted a 2.45 ERA in 25 2/3 innings for the Dodgers. That earned him a $10MM deal with the Phillies, which was sidetracked by shoulder problems. He finished the year on the injured list after tearing his shoulder capsule.

Leury García

García spent a decade with the White Sox in a utility capacity. Never much of an offensive threat, he nevertheless endeared himself to multiple coaching staffs based on his defensive flexibility. García signed a surprising three-year deal with Chicago over the 2021-22 offseason. He had a dreadful ’22 campaign and was off to a rough start in Spring Training. The White Sox cut bait in spite of the two remaining years on his contract. García’s an affordable utility option elsewhere.

Mike Minor

Minor made 19 starts for the Reds last season, allowing a 6.06 ERA. He was hampered by shoulder issues at times and struggled significantly with the home run ball. Minor has allowed more than five earned runs per nine innings for three consecutive seasons, though his strikeout and walk rates were solid up until 2022. He held a showcase in February and drew some reported attention from the Cubs last month.

Dallas Keuchel

A former Cy Young winner who was effective for the White Sox during the shortened 2020 season, Keuchel has been hit hard over the past couple years. He played for each of Chicago, Arizona and Texas last season and was tagged for a 9.20 ERA across 14 starts. Keuchel was excellent over four Triple-A outings in the Ranger organization. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported a couple weeks ago that the Phillies had expressed loose interest in the two-time All-Star, though Philadelphia apparently didn’t put a formal minor league offer on the table.

Others of note: Archie Bradley, Kole Calhoun, Robinson Canó, Kyle Crick, Didi Gregorius, Michael Pineda, Garrett Richards, Aníbal Sánchez, Andrelton Simmons, Jonathan Villar

There aren’t as many starting pitchers for clubs to sort through as there were bullpen targets, with 19 remaining hurlers who tallied at least 20 rotation innings this past season. We’ll look at the top half of that group by various metrics to determine who teams figure to prioritize as they seek starting pitching depth.

Note: all figures cited, including league averages, are looking solely at pitchers’ outings as starters.

ERA (league average — 4.05)

1. Johnny Cueto (RHP), 3.29
2. Michael Wacha (RHP), 3.32
3. Wade Miley (LHP), 3.34
4. Bryan Garcia (RHP), 3.54
5. Zack Greinke (RHP), 3.68
6. Devin Smeltzer (LHP), 4.02
7. Zach Davies (RHP), 4.06
8. Aníbal Sánchez (RHP), 4.28
9. Drew Hutchison (RHP), 4.52

Strikeout rate (league average — 21.6%)

1. Chase Anderson (RHP), 24.6%
2. Matt Swarmer (RHP), 22.4%
3. Bryan Garcia, 20.2%
4. Michael Wacha, 20.2%
5. Chris Archer (RHP), 19.2%
6. Wade Miley, 18.4%
7. Zach Davies, 17.9%
8. Chad Kuhl (RHP), 17.8%
9. Mike Minor (LHP), 16.7%

Strikeout/walk rate differential (league average — 14.1 percentage points)

1. Michael Wacha, 14.2 points
2. Matt Swarmer, 13.1 points
3. Dylan Bundy (RHP), 11.1 points
4. Chase Anderson, 10.6 points
5. Johnny Cueto, 10.5 points
6. Wade Miley, 9.2 points
7. Michael Pineda (RHP), 9 points
8. Aaron Sanchez (RHP), 9 points
9. Zach Davies, 8.8 points

Ground-ball rate (league average — 42.5%)

1. Wade Miley, 54.2%
2. Aaron Sanchez, 51.3%
3. Chase Anderson, 50.9%
4. Dallas Keuchel (LHP), 50.2%
5. Jared Koenig (LHP), 47.2%
6. Chris Archer, 43.7%
7. Zach Davies, 42.9%
8. Johnny Cueto, 42.5%
9. Zack Greinke, 41.3%

FIP (league average — 4.04)

1. Johnny Cueto, 3.76
2. Wade Miley, 4.00
3. Zack Greinke, 4.03
4. Michael Wacha, 4.14
5. Chase Anderson, 4.37
6. Chris Archer, 4.49
7. Aaron Sanchez, 4.61
8. Dylan Bundy, 4.66
9. Zach Davies, 4.83

Innings pitched

1. Johnny Cueto, 153 1/3
2. Dylan Bundy, 140
3. Zack Greinke, 137
4. Chad Kuhl, 137
5. Zach Davies, 134 1/3
6. Michael Wacha, 127 1/3
7. Chris Archer, 102 2/3
8. Mike Minor, 98
9. Drew Hutchison, 89 2/3

Sánchez will return to a big league mound for the first time since 2020. The 38-year-old righty sat out all of last season after not finding a contract offer to his liking on the heels of a 6.62 ERA showing during the shortened campaign. He made a comeback effort last offseason, returning to the Nats on a minor league deal. Sánchez made the club out of Spring Training, locking in a $2MM salary in the process, but he suffered a cervical neck impingement just before his first scheduled start.

That ultimately cost him three months of action, but the veteran is set to appear in the big leagues for a 16th year. He’s made three rehab starts with Rochester in recent weeks, topping out at 5 1/3 frames, so he should be capable of working into the middle innings. Sánchez joins a Washington rotation that has by far the league’s worst ERA (5.73) on the season.

Strasburg has contributed just one start to that group. He opened the year on the IL as he continued his rehab from last summer’s thoracic outlet syndrome procedure. The three-time All-Star returned in June, tossing 4 2/3 innings against the Marlins. He felt renewed discomfort in his rib area during a between-starts bullpen session, however, and he was again shut down.

Washington manager Dave Martinez suggested at the time he’d head for further evaluation and the club was concerned he’d had a recurrence of the TOS issues. The club hasn’t provided an update since that point, but he’s now gone over a month without reports of meaningful progress. Today’s IL transfer will officially rule him out for 60 days from his initial placement on June 11. He’ll technically be eligible to return around three weeks from now, but it seems likely he’ll be out well beyond that date given the lack of word on his status.

In another disappointing injury development, Martinez said today that rehabbing reliever Sean Doolittle will meet with doctors after experiencing elbow soreness during a recent bullpen session (via Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post). The veteran southpaw has been out since mid-April with an elbow sprain. He’s already on the 60-day IL. Doolittle, who signed a $1.5MM guarantee during Spring Training, made six scoreless appearances before the injury.

Sánchez signed a minor league deal during Spring Training, making a comeback after he sat out the 2021 campaign. Washington selected him onto the major league roster shortly before Opening Day. The veteran righty locked in a $2MM base salary by making the team and seemed as if he’d be part of the season-opening rotation. Unfortunately, he experienced some neck soreness that caused his start to be delayed.

Eventually, the team placed Sánchez on the IL with a cervical neck impingement. There was no indication he’d need an extended absence, but that apparently proves the case. Sánchez’s original IL placement was backdated to April 8, meaning he’ll be eligible to return during the first week of June. Whether the 38-year-old will be ready for his first appearance in two years at that point isn’t clear.

Strange-Gordon has been out since mid-April. The veteran speedster also cracked the Opening Day roster after signing a minors deal; he has taken three plate appearances in four games.

As it happens, Pollock was already set to miss some time.  The outfielder and his wife are expecting their second child, and Pollock was scheduled to go on paternity leave tomorrow.  He’ll use the absence to rest his hamstring and hopefully avoid become the latest White Sox player to hit the injured list.  Garrett Crochet has been lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery, while the 10-day IL features Lance Lynn, Yoan Moncada, Joe Kelly, Yermin Mercedes, and Ryan Burr, plus Lucas Giolito is now also set to miss at least his next two starts.

More injury updates from around baseball…

• There is “no set in stone timeline at this point” for when Tommy La Stella might return from the injured list, Giants manager Gabe Kapler told MLB.com’s Maria Guardado and other reporters.  La Stella underwent Achilles surgery in October and is still feeling some soreness, though he told media that doctors have said this isn’t unusual.  Despite the lack of clarity, the Giants did consider using La Stella as a DH to begin the season, so it would seem like he is relatively close to playing.  “It was just one of those things where we wanted to make sure that we weren’t sacrificing the long-term success in this process for short-term gains now and make sure I’m set up to be good to go for the rest of the season,” La Stella said.
• Anibal Sanchez could miss his scheduled start Monday, as the Nationals right-hander has been dealing with neck soreness.  The Nats already pushed Sanchez’s start back to give him time to heal, but as MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman writes, the club now may need to turn to either the bullpen, or possibly a minor league call-up like Josh Rogers or Aaron Sanchez to take the start.  In Aaron Sanchez’s case, the Nationals would have to first clear a 40-man roster spot to select his minor league contract.
• Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo updated reporters (including TSN’s Scott Mitchell) about sidelined pitchers Ryan Borucki and Nate Pearson.  Borucki is on the 10-day IL with a right hamstring strain, but came out of a two-inning simulated game feeling well.  Pearson is set to start light throwing after missing time due to mononucleosis, but because Pearson missed a significant portion of Spring Training, Mitchell writes that the right-hander is “essentially starting from scratch” from a preparation standpoint.  As such, it might not be until at least mid-May that Pearson is fully ramped up.

Sánchez returns to the nation’s capital, where he spent the 2019-20 campaigns. The veteran hurler had a productive first season in Washington, pitching to a 3.85 ERA over 166 regular season innings. He started a game in each of the Division Series, Championship Series and World Series during the Nats’ World Series run that year. Washington won all three of those games, with Sánchez contributing 18 innings of five-run ball during that stretch.

The second season of Sánchez’s tenure wasn’t as productive, either from a personal or team standpoint. He made 11 starts during the shortened schedule but only managed a 6.62 ERA. Washington fell to the bottom of the NL East, and the Venezuela native hit free agency at the end of the year. Sánchez didn’t wind up playing in affiliated ball last year. He was reportedly concerned by the pandemic protocols early in the season, then didn’t find an offer to his liking during the year.

The 38-year-old never suggested he was planning to step away from the game entirely, though. He inked a minor league deal to rejoin the Nationals this winter, and he’ll now lock in a $2MM base salary by making the Opening Day roster. Presumably, he’ll step right back into a rotation that’ll be without Stephen Strasburg and Joe Ross to open the year. Patrick Corbin, Erick Fedde, Josiah Gray, Josh Rogers and Paolo Espino are among the rotation options for skipper Dave Martinez.

A veteran who made his MLB debut back in 2006, Sanchez had his best years from 2010 to 2014, making 145 starts in that time, covering 895 innings with an ERA of 3.43. Unfortunately, things went south from there, with his ERA growing to 4.99, 5.87 and 6.41 over the next three seasons.

At that point, it was fair to wonder if his career was over, but he made an incredible comeback in 2018. After signing a minor league deal with the Braves, Sanchez threw 136 2/3 innings for Atlanta with a 2.83 ERA, parlaying that into a two-year, $19MM contract with the Nats. In 2019, he kept the comeback going with 166 innings of 3.85 ERA ball, and then 18 more innings in the postseason with an ERA of 2.50, helping the team on their remarkable World Series run.

The comeback ran out of steam in 2020, however, as Sanchez logged 53 innings in the shortened campaign with an ERA of 6.62. In 2021, he continually held showcases for interested clubs but ultimately never found a deal to his liking and missed the entire season. Yesterday, he held yet another showcase that was apparently impressive enough for him to land an offer just ten minutes later, per Heyman. Now Sanchez is back where he was four years ago, signed to a minor league deal and hoping to show he’s still got something left in the tank.

The Nationals would surely love for him to succeed, as they have lots of uncertainty in their rotation. Stephen Strasburg will be at the front of it if healthy, but that’s a big “if” after only throwing 26 2/3 innings over the past two years. Patrick Corbin will have another slot, but he had an ERA of 5.82 last year. Erick Fedde’s ERA was 5.47 in 2021. Joe Ross just had a bone spur removed from his throwing elbow and will be set back six to eight weeks, per Dougherty. Beyond that, the rotation options are unproven youngsters like Josiah Gray, Paolo Espino, Joan Adon, Seth Romero, Josh Rogers and Gerardo Carrillo. As the club endures a rebuild after last year’s selloff, they will surely want to have opportunities for those youngsters to show what they’re capable of. But they will likely also have the need for a veteran like Sanchez to take some starts and log some innings as well.

More from around baseball….

• Top Rangers prospect Josh Jung could miss the entire season due to shoulder surgery, and the Rangers traded Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Twins earlier today.  Despite these two losses, Rangers president of operations Jon Daniels told reporters (including Jeff Wilson) that the club wasn’t intending to make a big investment at third base going forward.  This would mean that Texas is going to roll with internal options like Yonny Hernandez, Andy Ibanez, Nick Solak or possibly some minor league infielders that could make their MLB debuts at some point in the season.  Or, given how aggressive the Rangers have been in revamping their roster this winter, it could be that Daniels was just engaging in some gamesmanship, and is on the lookout for some more established third base help.
• The Dodgers had interest in Chris Bassitt before the lockout, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal.  It isn’t known whether Los Angeles got in touch with the A’s about Bassitt again once the transactions freeze was lifted, but it’s now a moot point, as the A’s dealt Bassitt to the Mets earlier today.  With Bassitt off the table, starting pitching continues to be a target for the Dodgers, even after re-signing Clayton Kershaw on Friday and adding Andrew Heaney back in November.
• Pitching has also been the Blue Jays’ primary offseason focus to date, with the Jays signing Kevin Gausman and Yusei Kikuchi, and also locking up Jose Berrios to a contract extension.  However, Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes that Toronto will likely still explore infielders in trades and signings.  It has been assume that the Jays will target a second or third baseman this winter, with some combination of Cavan Biggio and Santiago Espinal handling whichever infield spot isn’t covered by a new arrival.
• Free agent hurlers Anibal Sanchez, Julio Teheran, and Erasmo Ramirez all threw during a showcase for scouts today in Miami, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reports (Twitter links).  One unknown team was impressed enough by Sanchez’s performance that they made a contract offer to the veteran right-hander almost immediately after he left the mound.  The Nationals (as per Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post) and Tigers (as per MLB.com’s Jason Beck) were among the teams who had evaluators at the showcase, though it isn’t known if this was just due diligence or because of a specific interest in any of the three pitchers.  Sanchez is both a former National and a former Tiger, while both Teheran and Ramirez pitched for Detroit just last season.

A return to form for Sánchez would be quite a feat for the hurler who turns 38 in February, though he’s been counted out before. Signed by the Tigers to a five-year deal prior to the 2013 campaign, Sánchez was excellent in the first year of the deal, throwing 182 innings with an ERA of 2.57. However, his ERA continued to grow in each year of the contract, with marks of 3.43, 4.99, 5.87 and 6.41 over 2014-2017.

After that drop in effectiveness, he had to settle for a minor league deal with Atlanta prior to the 2018 season. That proved to be a tremendous bounceback campaign for Sánchez, who was 34 years old at the time. He ended up throwing 136 2/3 innings for Atlanta with an ERA of 2.83, and parlayed that into a two-year, $19MM deal with the Nationals. He had another good year in 2019, throwing 166 innings with an ERA of 3.85, as well as 18 postseason innings with an ERA of 2.50, helping the Nats win the World Series that year.

Unfortunately for Sánchez, 2020 was a step back, as his ERA shot up to 6.62 over 53 innings in the shortened season. But after not pitching in 2021, Speier reports that Sánchez “felt rejuvenated after the time off, throwing with what appears to be more velocity than in recent years.” The next step for Sanchez is to “throw in front of a scout with a radar gun to decide whether to attempt another shot at the big leagues.”

Despite the downtime and the poor season in 2020, Sánchez could garner interest around the league due to the nature of the starting pitching market. There are a couple of top-tier free agents remaining in Carlos Rodon and Clayton Kershaw, but a big drop-off after that, as recently explored by MLBTR’s Anthony Franco. With many teams still looking to add starting pitching for 2022, it’s certainly possible that one of them is willing to roll the dice on a veteran with such a long track record of success in the majors. Sánchez has thrown 1,948 1/3 innings over 15 seasons so far, with an ERA of 4.05, strikeout rate of 20.8% and walk rate of 7.9%.

Sánchez didn’t sign over the winter due to concerns about COVID-19 and accompanying protocols. He conducted a few showcases for teams during the early part of the regular season, but there’d been no word of his plans since late April. It’s now clear he won’t be signing anywhere this year.

There’s no indication Sánchez is contemplating formal retirement at this point, but it’s not out of the question he’s already made his last MLB appearance. Sánchez will be 38 years old by the start of the 2022 season, and it’s difficult to imagine he’ll receive loftier offers next winter after sitting out the year. The veteran righty was a productive member of the Nationals’ 2019 World Series winner, but he’s coming off a difficult 2020 campaign.

Sánchez has appeared in parts of fifteen major league seasons. He’s made 350 appearances (327 starts) and worked to a 4.05 ERA/4.08 SIERA across 1948 1/3 innings. Sánchez’s best season to date came with the Tigers in 2013, when he led the American League in ERA (2.57) and FIP (2.39) en route to a fourth-place finish in AL Cy Young award voting.

April 28: Sanchez is planning to sign this week and could settle on a team as early as tomorrow, reports Joel Sherman of the New York Post (Twitter link).

April 23: The Yankees, Phillies, Marlins, Tigers, Diamondbacks and Blue Jays were among the teams at Sanchez’s showcase this morning, Heyman tweets.

April 21: Sanchez will throw yet another bullpen session for teams this Friday, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. He worked out for clubs in the offseason and reportedly turned down a couple offers, opting instead to see how health-and-safety protocols played out. He then worked out for teams early in the season but suffered the aforementioned finger laceration midway through his bullpen.

April 20: Free-agent righty Anibal Sanchez has been working out for clubs around the league and is drawing interest from several of his former employers, per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. The Braves, Nationals and Marlins have all looked into Sanchez, whose last bullpen session was truncated by a laceration on his middle finger that ought to have healed up by now. There’s interest from a couple of AL clubs as well, per Rosenthal.

Interest from any of the clubs linked to Sanchez this morning makes plenty of sense, given the pitching situations on each of the three. The Braves have recently placed Max Fried and Drew Smyly on the injured list, where they’ve joined Mike Soroka, whose recovery timeline recently hit a setback. None of the injuries is thought to be especially long-term, but the team’s depth has been tested early on.

The Nationals placed Stephen Strasburg on the injured list this week and have watched as left Patrick Corbin has been crushed by opposing lineups (15 earned runs in 6 1/3 innings). Last night’s rough start from Joe Ross only added fuel to the fire, sending the team’s collective rotation ERA to a disastrous 6.24 that ranks last among all big league teams. Currently, Max Scherzer is the only Nats pitcher who has started more than one game and has an ERA south of 5.00.

Meanwhile, Marlins righties Sixto Sanchez and Elieser Hernandez have dealt with injuries early in the 2021 season. They’re also carrying a pair of Rule 5 right-handers, Zach Pop and Paul Campbell, who have been hit hard in their first exposure to big league pitching.

Sanchez, 37, didn’t sign over the winter and is coming off a rough 2020 showing. The veteran right-hander was tagged for a 6.62 ERA in 53 innings with the Nationals last summer, although he’s only a season removed from 166 innings of 3.85 ERA ball during his first season with Washington.

More out of the AL and NL East:

• Orioles outfielder Austin Hays looks likely to be activated from the injured list on Tuesday, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. The 25-year-old was placed on the IL a little less than two weeks ago due to a hamstring strain, but it seems he’ll make a return in short order. Hays has played in exhibition games at the alternate training site in each of the past two days without issue, Kubatko notes. The Orioles also optioned right-hander Dean Kremer to the alternate site  after his start last night in Texas, per Kubatko. A pair of scheduled off days obviate the need for a fifth starter, so Baltimore recalled Cole Sulser to add to the relief corps for now.
• Nationals manager Dave Martinez provided updates on a pair of sidelined pitchers this afternoon (via Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com). Starter Jon Lester will throw an 80-pitch simulated game on Tuesday as he builds up strength from a stint on the COVID-19 injured list. Lester is the only Washington player who remains sidelined from the team’s coronavirus situation at the beginning of the year. Reliever Will Harris, meanwhile, threw a 26-pitch bullpen session this morning and is again scheduled to do so Tuesday. The veteran righty has yet to make his season debut after undergoing surgery in late March.
• The Nationals also remain in contact with the representatives for free agent right-hander Aníbal Sánchez, reports Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (Twitter link). The veteran, who pitched for Washington from 2019-20, had been expected to sign earlier this month but he cut his finger during a showcase for teams, delaying those plans.
• The Blue Jays placed reliever Jordan Romano on the injured list on Thursday, but the team is hopeful he’ll return when first eligible April 25, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet was among those to note (Twitter links). Fellow righty Tyler Chatwood should also return in short order, while flamethrower Nate Pearson is in line to throw live batting practice Tuesday as he builds back from the groin injury that has delayed his season debut.

The Timberwolves have struggled to build a consistent contender in the NBA since a successful run with fiery big man Kevin Garnett ended. Even then, functional GM Kevin McHale, coach Flip Saunders, and Garnett lost seven consecutive first round series. They finally broke through in 2003-04 for the franchise’s first playoff series win. They’d fall in the Western Conference Finals in what turned out to be the final playoff run of the Garnett era, however. Minnesota has just one playoff appearance in their history outside of that eight-year run, despite a roster currently built around the first overall pick of the 2015 draft Karl-Anthony Towns. You can find out more by heading to Hoops Rumors where Arthur Hill has the latest details. Now, back to baseball…

• Jake Odorizzi is set to make his debut for the Houston Astros on Tuesday versus Detroit, per MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart. Cristian Javier will head to the club’s alternate site to make room, tweets McTaggart. Javier should be back with the big league club before too long, but the Astros wanted to give him some extra time between appearances. Javier, 24, figures to be a significant part of the Astros’ rotation this season, but the 24-year-old wasn’t totally healthy at the start of the year. Regardless, he’s been sharp in two starts thus far, including getting a win with five scoreless innings against Oakland on Thursday.
• Zac Gallen could also return as early as Tuesday, per the Athletic’s Zach Buchanan (via Twitter). Manager Torey Lovullo wouldn’t commit, but it certainly sounds like Gallen will be back soon. The Diamondback rotation has struggled without Gallen leading the way. Now that Ketel Marte has landed on the injured list, Gallen’s return could provide a much-needed lift for the Snakes.
• Anibal Sanchez cut his fingers just 13 pitches into a bullpen showcase today, per Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (via Twitter). It had seemed like Sanchez would be ready to sign soon, but he’ll now need 10 days for his finger to heal. The Phillies, Nationals, and Marlins have all been tied to Sanchez at one point or another this winter.