Aaron Sanchez’s blister problem resurfaces, landing last year’s American League ERA king on the 10-day DL.
Fireballer on disabled list with lingering finger problem that’s messing with curveball
It’s been two years since right-hander Aaron Sanchez began struggling with blisters on his pitching hand, sores that would develop on and off despite trying anything and everything in search of a cure.
He has kept his skin soft. He has kept it hard. He let the nail grow. He cut it short. Still, the blisters resurfaced.
On Saturday, Sanchez decided he couldn’t push through the pain anymore. A day later, the Blue Jays put last season’s American League ERA champion on the 10-day disabled list.
And that wasn’t the only bad news on the pitching front for the Jays. In the fifth inning of Sunday’s 11-4 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, starter J.A. Happ left with soreness in his left elbow. He is scheduled for an MRI on Monday.
As for Sanchez, the DL stint is aimed at solving the problem with his right middle finger once and for all.
“We don’t really know when it comes, how it comes, why it’s coming, so this is just an opportunity to hopefully figure it all out,” Sanchez said.
The 24-year-old, who had been on track to start Thursday against the Boston Red Sox, will be eligible to return on April 25, the day Toronto starts a road series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Toronto recalled left-hander Matt Dermody from the Buffalo Bisons for Sunday’s game and put him right to work. The results were ugly: five runs allowed, including three homers, in just a third of an inning. Sanchez — who joins 2015 MVP Josh Donaldson, out with a recurring injury to his right calf, on the disabled list — popped a blister on his pitching hand late in spring training, then wasn’t sharp in his first two starts of the season against the Rays and Orioles, allowing six runs — including three homers — in 121⁄ in
3 nings.
The finger problem caused Sanchez to alter his mechanics, which can lead to other injuries. He said it was especially hard to grip his curveball, which has dipped in velocity this season. He added that he doesn’t throw many curves between starts, so the problem has only surfaced during game action.
“I can’t keep going out there and faking like I’m in there,” Sanchez said.
“If I don’t feel at my best, you’re not going to get the best of me. It’s just not worth it for me and it’s not worth it for the team.”
He plans to visit a hand specialist in Kansas City while on the DL and has spoken to a number of specialists over the phone, sending pictures their way.
Manager John Gibbons said he’s seen pitchers in similar situations have part of their fingernail cut away to fix the issue and return to action in two weeks or less.
It’s crucial to make sure it isn’t a long-term problem, he added: “For us to win anything this year, we’ve got to get him out there for 30 starts, that’s for sure.”