Blue Jays: Sanchez yet to nail down return date, but willing to go to ’pen
Aaron Sanchez is the kind of guy who likes counselling new faces in the clubhouse; it wasn’t so long ago that he was a new guy himself.
But a recent arrival such as Chris Rowley, who made his Major League Baseball debut this past Saturday as a member of Toronto’s starting staff, poses something of a conundrum for the 25-year-old. Rowley is out there in part because Sanchez can’t be; Toronto’s potential ace has been sidelined for all but 36 innings this year with nagging blister issues.
“For me it’s cool to see them there but at the same time, that’s supposed to be me out there,” he said on Monday. “It’s a little bit of a back and forth.”
Sanchez hopes he will be back on the mound this year. But with fewer than seven weeks left in the regular season, and with the minor leagues coming to a close about a month earlier, it is still up in the air if he can make that happen, let alone as a starter. Manager John Gibbons suggested over the weekend that should Sanchez be ready for a return before October, it could come out of the bullpen.
That is a few steps ahead of where Sanchez’s progress is at right now, though. First, he has to make sure no part of his middle right finger is bothering him. Then, it’s about making sure that he can throw without anything flaring up. Next, there is throwing for an extended period of time without problems.
Then, and only then, will Sanchez look at figuring out what is the best way to make his comeback.
If coming out of the bullpen is the quickest way for Sanchez to return to the mound, he’s willing to consider it.
“I don’t know if that’s set in stone,” he said. “It’s an idea; we’ve all kind of thrown it off each other in here but like I said, I just want to make sure that I’m out there and I can throw and I’m healthy first. That’s step one for me.”
Much of this season has been a waiting game for Sanchez, who has been placed on the disabled list four times: waiting for the nail to get healthy and strong, for the skin around it to clear up. On Monday, he was hopeful he is “almost” back.
“The only thing that was going to fix that was time. I think I’m over the hump so I should be playing catch in the next few days,” he said. “Which day, I don’t know. But I’m close.”
In the meantime, he has focused on controlling the things that he is able to control — like keeping his body in shape — instead of getting caught up in one blister issue leading to another, and so on and so forth.
“Anything I can control to just make sure I stay on top of my game, whether I do come back as a starter, I do come back as a reliever,” he said. “Whatever it may be, I’m ready to go. Things are kind of shaping up for us to be in this (the American League wild-card race) so I feel like I’m going to be needed at this time and I want to be that person for them to lean on.”
Part of that is being a teammate youngsters such as Rowley — who is scheduled to make his second start for the Blue Jays on Thursday against Tampa Bay Rays’ Chris Archer — can turn to when getting a feel for The Show.
“It’s just kind of keeping their feet on the ground and letting them know that confidence here is one of the main things and you’re here for a reason so just go out there and do your thing.”