As we head into the all-star break, the Toronto Blue Jays remain out of contention in the AL East, sitting 23.5 games behind the first-place Boston Red Sox and 14 games out of a wild-card spot.
From injuries to under-performance, there are numerous factors one could point to in an attempt to explain the ball club’s 2018 season thus far. The durability of Toronto’s starting pitchers has been a recurring issue, impacting the likes of key rotation cogs Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez. While Stroman has found his way back onto the diamond, Sanchez, who was initially projected to open the campaign as one of the Blue Jays’ top starters, has pitched just 79.2 innings this season due to a lingering finger contusion.
Stephen Brunt joins Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker on Baseball Central to discuss how, despite this season’s results, the Blue Jays would be wise to stick with Sanchez and Stroman in the rotation heading into next season:
Watch Baseball Central with Jeff Blair and Kevin Barker live on Sportsnet.ca every weekday at noon ET/9 a.m. PT throughout the summer.
[relatedlinks]
