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Inbox: Could Sanchez be headed to the bullpen?
- Updated: July 21, 2016
I’m so confused about the plan for Aaron Sanchez. Are the Blue Jays going to move him to the bullpen? He deserves to start! — Kristy M., Toronto
To be honest, I’m as confused as you are. Sanchez to the bullpen was a foregone conclusion earlier this year, but there have been at least a few hints that the line of thinking might be starting to change. Manager John Gibbons’ stance of “it’s going to happen” has changed to “it’s probably going to happen.”
Whatever the final decision is, this won’t be Gibbons’ call and he said as much earlier this week. This decision will be made by the front office and they’ll be using some of their sports-science technology and analysis to evaluate Sanchez’s delivery, release point, velocity and a lot of other things along the way.
Whether or not Sanchez goes to the ‘pen is anybody’s guess, but a move would be hard to justify at this point. Sanchez has yet to show any signs of fatigue and he has firmly cemented his spot as one of the top young pitchers in the game. In my opinion, this team needs Sanchez in the rotation to contend and he should remain in his current role until he starts to noticeably wear down.
If Sanchez goes to the ‘pen, do the Blue Jays go out and get themselves a legit starter like Chris Archer or Sonny Gray? Or do they stick with Drew Hutchison? — Karim, Mississauga
If Sanchez goes to the bullpen, then the Blue Jays really have no choice but to acquire another starter. Hutchison would be a relatively solid option, but there’s a serious lack of depth behind him and if anybody gets hurt it could create some very dangerous issues.
It’s highly unlikely that the starter would be a big name. Toronto does not have enough assets in the Minors to compete with teams like the Rangers, who are also in the market for a starter. Toronto had a scout in attendance at the Phillies game on Wednesday night when Jeremy Hellickson was the starting pitcher. That’s more likely to be the type of pitcher the Blue Jays would target.
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