Toronto Blue Jays starter Aaron Sanchez could pitch for Mexico at the World Baseball Classic if the team advances out of the initial group stage, according to a report from Jon Morosi.
This puts Sanchez in a similar situation to teammate Marco Estrada, who said last week that a lingering back issue from 2016 could keep him out of round one. Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna is confirmed as part of the team.
Mexico is playing in Pool D with Italy, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Their opening game is scheduled for March 9 in Jalisco, Mexico, and if they are able to advance past the group stage, their next game would be March 14 in San Diego.
Sanchez is coming off a career-high workload in 2016 with 202.2 innings pitched between the regular season and playoffs, so the Blue Jays might hope to exercise caution with the 24-year-old’s arm.
Another factor is Sanchez’s recent switch to agent Scott Boras, who has been outspoken on pitcher workloads in the past with young clients like Stephen Strasburg and Matt Harvey.