Two birds, not one stud
Maybe Sanchez had to go, but depth in the outfield is the last thing Jays need
As smiles go, this one had a sweeping curveball bite.
Aaron Sanchez won the lottery on Wednesday. Newly minted as a Houston Astro amidst the dwindling minutes of the trade deadline. And bye-bye Blue Jays. Here’s your cap, what’s your hurry.
Don’t give too much credence to the nicely-nicely both-ways sentiments expressed after Toronto had knocked off the Royals in Kansas City for a rare sweep — punctuated by Bo Bichette’s first majorleague home run.
Pitcher and franchise are relieved to be shot of one another.
The 27-year-old right-hander must be over the moon, dealt to a club with World Series bona fides, accompanied by reliever Joe Biagini (who, typically, is “looking forward to going to space”) and who-dat outfield prospect Cal Stevenson. The organization is just as happy to be quit of a pitcher who, behind closed doors, had not been shy about declaring utter exasperation and dismay over how his chronic finger issues had been medically handled, or mishandled.
Whether the return on their parting of ways — three players for one, a rather long-in-the-tooth minor leaguer, at 25, in outfielder Derek Fisher — is worth the candle, well, that’s a wait-and-see proposition. Though it should be noted that Toronto GM Ross Atkins has been getting generally poor reviews for his cluster of deadline moves, five deals that cost the team, primarily, two-fifths of their starting rotation in Sanchez and Marcus Stroman.
A brace of aces. Or, in the case of Sanchez, a former ace struggling to regain his one-time American League ERA-best form in what has been a dismal season studded with worst-ever bullets. A pair of pitchers drafted and incubated in the Blue Jays system, without whom there would have been no glory years in 2015 and 2016. Each leaving behind a taste of ashes. But also, Atkins asserts, a plentitude of mound prospects, the objective clearly to replenish a minor-league system bereft of quality pitchers ready for prime time.
Sanchez learned he was Houston-bound immediately after the K.C. game was in the books. He ap
peared emotional in his scrum with reporters, but there was only a faint whiff of regret.
“First off, this journey started 10 years ago. I was a 17-year-old kid who had aspirations of pitching in the big leagues.”
Toronto’s first-round pick in the 2010 draft, who started in the bullpen, matriculated to starter, back to the ’pen, plagued the past couple of seasons with blisters and a mutant nail, and a losing round with a suitcase (bruised finger), quite possibly destined for relief again had he remained a Blue Jay. Made 23 starts for Toronto in 2019 but hadn’t earned a W since April 27.
“It’s been a crazy, crazy nine years for sure,’’ said Sanchez, “and the last four a true dream to play for a nation, to be able to put this uniform on. A little bittersweet. Obviously I’m thrilled for the opportunity that I got, to go pitch in Houston and learn from the guys that they have.”
Highly doubtful, actually, that Sanchez grew up in California dreaming about playing for a Canadian team. But you get the drift.
“I just want to say thanks to the fans, thanks for all the memories … I know these last two years have kind of been not so high compared to what they were when I first got here. The love that I’ve always got from you guys, I’ll always be appreciative of that.”
It’s disorienting to watch the Jays being horse-traded away, piece by piece. One could have foreseen a long coupling of Sanchez and the Jays — Stroman and the Jays too — given how much care had been put into grooming them, delivering them to the majors. But the current front office has no particular fealty to either, the relationship close to tatters by the time spring training opened this past February.
“You try to just be a good person at the end of the day,” Sanchez said Wednesday. “You understand it’s a business. I have no hard feelings. This is just another chapter on the journey towards where I’m headed.”
Few expected the club to sever ties with both Sanchez and Stroman — the former best buddy bros who were no longer on speaking terms — at this juncture, as they patch together a starting rotation to complete the season. But the brass is all-in with its painful rebuild, delighted with the position player youngsters who’ve been promoted from Triple-A – Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Cavan Biggio, the immediate splash made by shortstop Bichette.
Atkins and president Mark Shapiro will be judged, however, by their wisdom in dispatching Sanchez and Stroman — still in their prime years — when they still retained control of each for another season, in a market that did not offer a fistful of prized players, in a sport where projections are difficult to determine, fussy analytics notwithstanding. Seriously, Derek Fisher? A fourth outfielder, when the team has finally sorted itself out, with unexpected efficiency from Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Teoscar Hernandez and Randal Grichuk (whose five-year, $52-million U.S. contract extension in April is still a comeagain? puzzle).
In a late-afternoon conference call with reporters, Atkins said the Jays had long circled around Fisher. “He couldn’t fit better with our young corps right now, adding that amount of control, the handedness, the speed, the success he had in the minor leagues, everything about his track record suggests that he is a great fit for us. Obviously, with any athletes there comes a risk. Again, it comes back to us targeting him and having a very good feel for the player. He complements us exceptionally well. If you look at the better teams across baseball, it’s depth at all positions, having versatility. These guys are exceptionally young. Having them in numbers, not just pencilling in one person for each position, is a better approach and the way the game is played today.”
Sure, they’d discussed, internally, hanging on to Sanchez for another year, wait to see if he could right himself as again, as had been indicated in his past few fine starts. “Absolutely,” said Atkins. “Of course we considered that. It really comes down to how much we valued Derek Fisher and how excited we are about him.”
An excitement that does not appear to be widely shared, certainly not by the reproof shared on social media.
It’s unclear how the Astros, with a formidable starting rotation that features Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and the blockbuster deadline addition of Zack Greinke, intend to deploy Sanchez. It’s clear what he wants. “I haven’t talked to anybody but my plan is to be a starter.”
I remember their rookie season, Sanchez and Stroman, when they were subjected to the traditional rite-of-rookies torture, made to dress in corsets and fishnet stockings and high heels as they boarded the team bus, headed for the team charter. It was all fun ’n’ games then, the future beckoning so brightly. A brightness that faded to grim, bitter, distrusting.
But, like Sanchez said, we’ll always appreciate the good times.