Sanchez not sweating salary ‘disagreement’ with Blue Jays

DUNEDIN, FLA. — For the first time in his pro career, Aaron Sanchez enters a season with no pre-set limits on the number of innings he can pitch.

The all-star starting pitcher logged 192 big-league innings last season — not including playoffs — and did a quick August stint with the Buffalo Bisons aimed at saving his powerful right arm for a playoff run.

The Jays won’t cap Sanchez’s workload this year, but they continue to place a ceiling on his salary, renewing his contract at a league-minimum $535,000 (all figures U.S.) after Sanchez turned down a modest raise.

Sanchez made $517,800 last year.

The decision prompted Sanchez’s agent, Scott Boras, to blast Jays management in an interview with Sportsnet, but Sanchez insisted any acrimony between his agent and his team doesn’t seep into his dealings with coaches and management.

And Sanchez added his longterm future includes Toronto.

“I’m here for another four years, so there’s nothing to worry about,” Sanchez said after leaving Thursday’s 11-5 loss to the New York Yankees. “Obviously, we came upon a disagreement ... This is still a business. It’s (just) a spot where we didn’t agree.”

Sanchez acknowledged turning down the Jays’ offer but declined to explain why he made that decision. Likewise, general manager Ross Atkins wouldn’t specify dollar amounts, but he told reporters that Sanchez rejecting the offer prompted the club to opt for the league minimum rather than negotiate further.

Sanchez becomes eligible for salary arbitration after this season, but until then the team has discretion over how much to pay him. Atkins said renewing the star pitcher at the league minimum falls under a decade-old Blue Jays policy on paying players not yet eligible for arbitration.

But the GM also acknowledged that nothing prevents the club from adjusting the policy or giving Sanchez a substantial raise. Still, Atkins maintained that, for now, it’s fair to pay pre-arbitration players based on service time instead of performance.

Sanchez performed like a big-money player last year. In his first full season as a starting pitcher, Sanchez blossomed into an all-star, going 15-2 and leading the league in winning percentage (.882), ERA (3.00) and home runs per nine innings (0.7).

Thursday afternoon, with the wind in Dunedin blowing out to right field, Sanchez gave up a pair of third-inning home runs. He left the game with two out in the third, having allowed six hits and four earned runs while striking out three batters.