Sanchez looking for bounce-back season
The relationship between Aaron Sanchez and Luke Maile dates back to Scottsdale, Arizona, and a 2013 fall league season with the Salt River Rafters.
It’s where pitcher and catcher first connected as teammates, and where a dynamic that became important to Sanchez as he prepared for his bounce-back season in 2018 —after losing nearly all of the previous year to blister issues — originated.
As Sanchez worked out this off-season in preparation for what he hopes will be a vastly improved year — it began Friday night with his first start against the New York Yankees — it was Maile who joined him at the Blue Jays’ complex in Dunedin, Florida, to catch his throws and act as a second set of eyes for the righthander as he looked to rediscover his groove.
“It’s a little easier to get along with Luke because I was with him in the fall league,” Sanchez said.
“When he first came over I was happy to have him. That relationship’s never been one that we had to gain here. It’s kind of always been there.”
Release point, direction, delivery, making sure Sanchez was on top of, not outside of, the baseball — all areas Maile, 27, helped the 25-year-old ensure were sharp heading into the season.
The two being so familiar with each other sped up the process of getting prepared for the season.
“That was one of the most important things for me at least coming back this year is making sure I had (that second pair of eyes),” Sanchez said.
“I knew that he was going to be there so it made everything a lot easier. If I didn’t then I would find a way, too — I know Russell (Martin) lives kind of in the area. Just to get that feedback. They know. They’ve seen me the most, they know what plays at this level and they know where I need to be at a certain time in the early stages of the off-season. I think it’s huge.”
Sanchez and Maile, who the Blue Jays claimed off waivers in the first week of the 2017 season, paired up in just two games last year — which would amount to a quarter of the games the pitcher would throw all season.
Through 11 innings with Maile behind the plate, Sanchez posted a 2.45 ERA, allowing three earned runs and four walks and nabbing eight strikeouts.
While Maile doesn’t consider working out together in December and January paramount to a pitcher-catcher relationship because it’s impossible to replicate the pressure and atmosphere of the regular season, it does help develop trust between two players.
“When you have a relationship where the guy on the mound trusts what you’re putting down and trusts that you’ve thought through what his best pitch to make in the situation is, I think that they just have an ability to throw it with more conviction,” Maile said.
Manager John Gibbons, a former catcher himself, agrees.
“Especially that combination, pitcher and catcher, which is the whole game,” he said.
“If they got confidence in him, they’re going to get the most out of themselves. And it works just the opposite. I’ve seen that other places than here before. When there’s a little lack of confidence, it makes it tougher.”
While Russell Martin is Toronto’s clear No. 1 behind the plate, Gibbons feels really good about putting the native of Kentucky in the lineup when the Canadian — who missed 42 games last year thanks to two stints on the disabled list — either needs a rest or takes a shift at third base.
“Luke’s a very good catcher,” Gibbons said.
“After not knowing him last year, he came over here, he won over the pitching staff; they really enjoyed throwing to him.
“He’s smart, he’s got a great arm, he’s very good behind the dish. That’s comforting to know.”
Having spent more time up close and personal with Sanchez over recent months than most people, Maile expected him to come into the season jacked up — both for his first start against the Yankees and over the course of the 162-game season.
“I’m expecting him to compete, number one,” Maile said.
“He’s never been shy about competing. He’s outstanding at it.”