Giants finally get to see Sanchez
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. >> Aaron Sanchez spent the 2020 season away from baseball and not at all because he chose to. The 28-year-old right-handed pitcher used that time to recover from shoulder surgery after he suffered a torn capsule in his right shoulder in 2019.
It was another injury in a career that has seen quite of few of them. Even still, the San Francisco Giants wanted to give the righty a chance. And on Friday night against the Cincinnati Reds, Sanchez made his first appearance in orange and black. It was an experience he relished.
“I woke up wired and ready to go bright and early this morning,” Sanchez said. “For me, I was trying to keep myself under control all day. Me being the competitor I am, it’s been something that’s been hard for me to watch from afar.”
Perhaps a symptom of not playing since Aug. 20, 2019, Sanchez’s spring debut lasted 2.1 innings in which he surrendered three earned runs and five hits to go along with hit two batters in a game the Giants lost 6-2. On paper, his outing may seem like a disheartening, blemish-filled appearance for someone trying to prove he’s healthy and capable of pitching like a former first-round selection.
That’s not how Sanchez viewed it. Not at all.
“This was my first game in a year and half, so I was really, really happy with how it went,” Sanchez said. “I threw a lot of strikes, almost too many strikes. There were a few curveballs that stayed up in the zone when I had a chance to put them away, and obviously, that’s some of the things I wasn’t happy about. But for not being in a game in a year and a half, that was exactly what I wanted to see.”
Sanchez’s fastball was parked between 91-93 miles per hour, according to the stadium radar gun, which some Giants pitchers have said can be a bit unreliable. Sanchez believes it was likely accurate, though, as he deliberately avoided his maximum velocity. It was like a feel-out day for Sanchez on Friday and everything felt right.
“I could have been out there and come out of my delivery trying to throw hard but that was not something that I wanted to do,” he said. “Being able to be a tick below what I’m really at and in the strike zone, filling up the zone, being able to be aggressive in the zone, after that, I’m only adding on top of that.”
Once one of the league’s top prospects, Sanchez wasted little time proving just how good he was. After two great seasons in 2014 and 2015, he was an All-Star in 2016 and led the American League in ERA that season. Things have been turbulent for Sanchez since that All-Star season with a 5.29 ERA to show for it. But he was up to 98 miles per hour in an early February bullpen session and showcased a solid changeup on Friday night.
“Moving forward, the 0-2 and 1-2 put-away pitches are something that has to be better,” Sanchez said. “But to be able to throw strikes and be competitive out there ... that’s the only thing I can really take, just to be better in 0-2 and 1-2 counts.”
Giants manager Gabe Kapler was pleased with the outing, too.
“I thought it was really encouraging,” Kapler said. “The outcome of the game wasn’t what we would have liked to have seen and there were many things that we could have done better but I still think it’s worth noting that it was encouraging that he came in and pounded the strike zone. We know that there’s another level in there.”
In terms of getting the feel of the mound underneath him again and proving to himself that he can get outs, Friday night checked those boxes. Now, Sanchez believes he can begin focusing on adding his velocity back to prepare for the regular season.
“For me, it’s just staying in my delivery and then adding intensity back in,” Sanchez said. “It’s just reps, but also stepping on the gas pedal a little bit more than what I did tonight.”
Sanchez was adamant he’ll be ready for Opening Day. He said he’s been ready for a while. And with the regular season just two weeks away, he’s looking forward to being able to prove it. Friday was the first step.
“As much as there was some balls being hit and some times that I wasn’t able to put guys away,” Sanchez said, “for me to be able to fill up the strike zone and be competitive in an atmosphere like that, I’ll take away from today a lot of plusses.”
SHARP APPEARANCE FOR A PAIR OF GIANTS SOUTHPAWS >>
The Giants are still trying to figure out what exactly their rotation will look like. Where does Sanchez slot in? How do they fill the void created by lefty Alex Wood if he isn’t ready for Opening Day after undergoing a spinal ablation procedure this week? The organization expects those things to crystalize throughout the remainder of spring camp.
The Giants will also have to figure out the makeup of their bullpen before April 1, especially after losing righty Dedniel Nunez to a UCL sprain that requires surgery. In that regard, Kapler is confident his bullpen options are ripe for the picking.
“There’s a lot of good competition happening there,” Kapler said Friday. “I kind of like that. It’s kind of the one area where there’s quite a bit of competition. It’s certainly shaping up.”
Against the Reds, a pair of Giants relief pitchers had successful outings. Lefties Jarlin Garcia and Jake McGee combined to throw two scoreless innings with four strikeouts. While both are fully entrenched in bullpen spots, it’s a promising sign for the unit as a whole.
“I’m ready to say that we’re excited about having Jake McGee pitch really important innings for us this year,” Kapler said.
• The Giants signed lefthanded pitcher Phil Pfeifer to a Minor League contract with an invite to Major League camp, the organization announced on Friday night. Pfeifer, 28, has not made his MLB debut but has been relatively successful in five minor league seasons split between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves organizations. The southpaw played college baseball at Vanderbilt with Giants outfielder Mike Yastrzemski and pitchers Tyler Beede and Sam Selman.
• Kapler said Friday that star catcher Buster Posey could return to Cactus League action as soon as Sunday. The 33-yearold has missed the past several games due to hip tightness.