TORONTO – Even after Marcus Stroman’s injury essentially locked Aaron Sanchez into the rotation, the debate over whether the 22-year-old should be starting or relieving for the Toronto Blue Jays has still simmered quietly in the background.
It was inevitable, really, especially given that the organization is split over where he most helps the club, and didn’t add an established closer or set-up men over the winter. Anything less than eye-popping starts by the right-hander, and any blips by the relief corps, were bound to stir up the debate.
So things are suddenly very interesting for the Blue Jays, and not just because Jose Reyes left the game in the first with soreness in his left side, after Sanchez was much better than in his first start but still struggled to command a fastball popping 96-97 mph in a 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday.
Sanchez worked into the sixth this time, leaving with one out and a man on third that scored on a Tim Beckham homer off Aaron Loup, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks with four strikeouts.
At times he was overpowering. At times he was all over the place, like when a bases loaded heater in the third sailed to the backstop.
Still, you’d have to be blind to not see the potential. If it clicks, he’ll dominate.
“I definitely saw progress,” said manager John Gibbons, adding later: “Sanchie is going to be fine. First time starting in the big-leagues, he’s been a starter his whole career, he was in relief last year, let him get his feet wet, let him get comfortable through it all, and he’s going to be fine.”
But with so much riding on this season, there’s a question about how long the Blue Jays can wait, even after just two starts, which is why Scott Copeland’s concurrent outing for triple-A Buffalo – a three-hit, one-run gem in a 5-1 win over Lehigh Valley – was being watched closely.
The 27-year-old right-hander has some backers in the organization, and is on the front office’s radar because of a sinker that causes his opponents to repeatedly drive the ball into the ground. Of Copeland’s 21 outs Thursday, 16 of them were on groundballs.
With a muddy bog for a new rug at Rogers Centre, that sinker could really be a weapon. If it translates in the majors, Sanchez might then bolster a bullpen that could use another arm like his in the high-leverage, late-inning mix.
And then there’s Marco Estrada, too, and it’s worth noting that Gibbons casually inserted that the right-hander is capable of making spot-starts during his daily pre-game chat with media. He happened to be saved for Sanchez’s day, too, throwing three innings of shutout ball.
Maybe a change at some point makes the Blue Jays better. Or maybe it doesn’t, particularly if Sanchez can have more innings like the first Thursday, when he hit 97 six times, 96 twice while being in the zone more consistently.
That plays.
“Mechanics isn’t an issue with me, it’s about making sure everything stays over the plate,” said Sanchez. “With the type of stuff I have, I’ve just got to be around the box, and I felt like I was tonight, more than I was in the first start.”
Either way, bigger picture machinations are underway. By designating Todd Redmond for assignment earlier in the day and recalling Ryan Goins, the Blue Jays opened up a spot on the 40-man roster (which Copeland isn’t on), while covering themselves in the event Reyes’ oblique, troubling him since last Friday in Baltimore, flared up the way it did on a groundout to second in the first inning.
Any sort of long-term absence won’t be easily overcome.
“I was playing through it like that but I feel like (Wednesday) and (Thursday), it was getting worse,” said Reyes, who missed games in three stints with a right abdominal strain in 2010. “I kind of backed off a little bit because that’s dangerous.”
This time, Reyes feels fine fielding and throwing, but batting left-handed – “if you see my swing, all my swings are one hand, that’s not me – I don’t feel too comfortable,” he says – is a problem.
“I’m going to take some days off and see with some rest if that calms down a little bit,” said Reyes.
Things got testy with the Rays, who took three of four, as Chris Archer hit Russell Martin and Edwin Encarnacion, Devon Travis got clipped by David DeJesus on a takeout slide, Estrada hit Evan Longoria on the left hip, forcing him from the game, and Steve Geltz grazed Josh Donaldson’s index finger with a high and tight breaking ball.
“I think there was some intent there,” Cash said of the pitch that hit Longoria. “You know, Arch, he pitches in to get outs and I know a couple of balls rode up and in. I do think there was intent.”
After Longoria got hit, Archer stood at the edge of the Rays dugout and appeared to be shouting at the Blue Jays.
“I could care less what the guy does on the other team – I’m more focused on my team,” said Donaldson. “I didn’t see anything that was out of the ordinary. I saw a few guys get hit, we have a few guys who are on the plate, they have guys who are on the plate, you’ve got to try and pitch inside, it happens.”
Said Longoria: “It should make for an interesting rest of the year against these guys.”
For a Blue Jays team still finding itself, perhaps that’s a good thing.
