Jays Journal
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Blue Jays: Building blocks on the current big league roster

By Chris Henderson

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 02: Marcus Stroman #6 of the Toronto Blue Jays walks back to the dugout after pitching against the Minnesota Twins during the fifth inning of the game on May 2, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Blue Jays 4-0. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 02: Marcus Stroman #6 of the Toronto Blue Jays walks back to the dugout after pitching against the Minnesota Twins during the fifth inning of the game on May 2, 2018 at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Twins defeated the Blue Jays 4-0. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /
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DETROIT, MI – JUNE 3: Aaron Sanchez #41 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches during the first inning of the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on June 3, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – JUNE 3: Aaron Sanchez #41 of the Toronto Blue Jays pitches during the first inning of the game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on June 3, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images) /

Aaron Sanchez

I already mentioned Sanchez briefly on the last page, and obviously he fits in a similar way to how Stroman would as far as contract control, and rotation needs for 2019.

As far as committing to the right-hander in the long term, it really depends on which lens you look at him through. On one hand, he lead the AL in ERA as recently as 2016, and has the talent to be one of the best starters in baseball when he’s right. On the other, he struggled to stay healthy for all of 2017, and he’s had a hard time finding that same form again since returning to the mound this year. He’s currently 3-5 with a 4,33 ERA and a 1.500 WHIP through his first 13 starts, not exactly where he or the team hoped he would be by the middle of June.

On the plus side, he has been healthy, and with someone as talented as Sanchez it feels like it should be a matter of time before the results start to follow. While he is a Scott Boras client, he’s making just 2.7 million this season according to spotrac.com, and he won’t be outrageously expensive for 2019, or 2020, especially at this rate.

I really do believe it’s just a matter of time before he’s back to dominating major league hitters, and his last two outings against the Orioles and the Tigers were both encouraging, quality starts.

Even if he doesn’t develop into the potential Cy Young winner that we all thought he would/can  become, he should be at least a middle of the rotation arm at the highest level, something that has value for every team. For the Blue Jays who have a bit of a shortage of arms for the immediate future beyond this season, his presence will be something to count on, assuming he doesn’t get dealt or anything silly like that.

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