At some point this year, the Toronto Blue Jays will face a tough decision on Aaron Sanchez: how to get the most out of the 23-year-old in the short term while also keeping him healthy for seasons to come?
Manager John Gibbons says it’s a question of when, not if Sanchez moves to the bullpen, but the Blue Jays don’t appear to be worrying about the timing of that transition just yet. GM Ross Atkins said Tuesday that he sees ‘no reason’ to move him out of the rotation right now.
“What he’s done he’s earned,” Atkins told Blue Jays Central from Denver. “He’s earned every opportunity and right to be one of the best major league starters in baseball. The fact that we’re facing that question (of managing his workload) is such a good challenge and situation for the Toronto Blue Jays.
“What we’ll do is continue to focus on how effective he is as a starter,” Atkins continued. “As long as things are trending upwards and in the right direction, there will be no reason to move him out.”
It’s not clear how much time that buys Sanchez, who turns 24 on Friday, but the Blue Jays would certainly benefit from keeping him in the rotation if he can sustain his early-season success. Through 15 starts, the right-hander had a 3.24 ERA with 93 strikeouts and just 32 walks in 97.1 innings.
Meanwhile, Atkins said Marcus Stroman’s latest start was “really encouraging.” The right-hander allowed four runs to the Chicago White Sox, and has now allowed more earned runs than any MLB pitcher. Even so, the Blue Jays aren’t thinking about moving Stroman to the bullpen.
“We have not,” Atkins said. “Not for one second.”