National Post (National Edition)
Sanchez ‘ready to go’ after latest DL stint
Discloses that he injured finger on a suitcase
TORONTO • It was difficult to tell from his demeanour, but Blue Jays right-hander Aaron Sanchez said he is thrilled to be back with the big team.
Sanchez seemed somewhat guarded as he sat down with the media before Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Baltimore Orioles. On the other hand, you can’t really blame the 26-year-old for not being a bundle of joy. The last two seasons have been full of frustration for the young pitcher who had been plagued with blister issues on his right middle finger. Last year the problem landed him on the disabled list four times. This year he’s missed 52 games because of a right index finger contusion and finally rejoined the Jays Wednesday. He’ll pitch a side session Thursday and if all goes well the 2016 AL ERA leader will start Saturday at home against the Philadelphia Phillies.
“Honestly, I didn’t think I was going to make it back,” said Sanchez. “I mean I’ve missed so much time the last few years so, just to be able to be back here and hopefully contribute this last month and a half, I’m looking forward to it.
“I mean, when you’re on the DL as long as you are the last few years, it’s just tough. So you just take it day by day. I know it’s super cliché, but that’s kind of all you have to do. I’m at where I’m at and I’m ready to go.”
Sanchez was placed on the DL June 22, a day after his start in Anaheim, where he was pulled after one inning and after giving up two runs on two hits and a walk. The 2016 all-star finally shed some light Wednesday on how the injury occurred.
“It’s still not important,” Sanchez said. “It got stuck up in my suitcase and I didn’t want to say it then because I saw Salvador Perez (who suffered a Grade 2 MCL tear while carrying a suitcase up a flight of stairs) go down with the same injury. I didn’t want to get laughed at and it’s probably none of your guys’ business how it happened.
“It got stuck on my suitcase, the bag (about 50 pounds) started falling, it happened all in the span of like 30 seconds. I pulled my finger, I said ‘Ow.’ My knuckle got super fat, I pitched that day (June 21), it probably didn’t help, but it was the first time I was going to pitch in front of my family as a professional and I wanted to see what I could do. Maybe that’s why it took two months (to heal).”
Like many of his teammates this season — such as Josh Donaldson and his left calf injury — Sanchez’s injury lingered for a surprisingly long time.
“It was super swollen, I could barely bend my finger,” said Sanchez. “They said there was nothing structurally damaged. I started to play catch. It wasn’t getting any better. So I took four days off, it was right around the all-star break, and I started playing catch every other day. It kind of
I’VE MISSED SO MUCH TIME THE LAST FEW YEARS OR SO.
started responding better and I was able to play catch every day probably from that next week moving forward. And at that point I missed so much time I can’t go right into games, so you got to build back up and make some progression and that’s why I took so long.”
Sanchez’s last rehab start was Monday for the DoubleA New Hampshire Fisher Cats as he threw 86 pitches, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits over 4 1/3 innings, walking four and striking out four. The fact that 44 were balls doesn’t matter to Sanchez.
“I don’t get attached to numbers in rehab starts. I’m throwing change-ups and curveballs in counts I would never (throw them in the bigs),” he said. “As long I make (86) pitches and I’m pain-free, I accomplished (what I wanted).”