Blue Jays place Aaron Sanchez on the disabled list

According to multiple sources, the Blue Jays have placed right-handed starting pitcher Aaron Sanchez on the 10-day DL with a right index finger contusion.

The Blue Jays have placed Aaron Sanchez on the 10-day disabled list with a right index finger contusion, according to a tweet from the team. Sanchez left Thursday night’s game with an apparent right index finger injury after pitching a single inning.

In a corresponding move, the Jays have activated Marcus Stroman from the disabled list, announcing that he’ll get the start Saturday night in Anaheim as the Jays take on the Angels.

Unfortunately for Sanchez, this injury comes at a rather bad time for him, seeing as he was just putting things together on the hill. In his past four starts (including Thursday’s shortened outing), he’s pitched to a 3.72 ERA, striking out 21 and walking 10 in 19.1 innings of work.

Qualitatively, he’s had better command and has shown more confidence on the mound as of late, working out of tough jams and striking out hitters in pivotal spots.

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As for Stroman, his activation comes as no surprise, as he tweeted a few days ago that he was back with the team and would make his first start within the next little while. On the season, Stroman has started seven games, pitching to a 7.71 ERA, walking 18 and striking out 32. He went on the disabled list on May 11th with right shoulder fatigue.

While disappointing, this DL placement isn’t exactly shocking, as the Jays will probably be extra cautious with Sanchez, primarily due to the fact that he missed almost all of last season with a finger issue. Granted, the injury was of a slightly different nature, but I would expect the team to remain conservative in his rehab timetable.

On the season, Sanchez is 3-5 with a 4.52 ERA. He’s been worth 0.7 WAR overall and has appeared in 15 games, all of them starts.

This injury just adds to the seemingly endless list of Blue Jays who have spent time on the shelf, highlighting a big issue for this team this year – the ability (or lack of ability) to stay healthy. Regardless, we’ll continue to follow Sanchez’s recovery as more details are made available.

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