CLEVELAND — Aaron Sanchez is headed back to the disabled list for a fourth time this season due to a blister on the middle finger of his right hand.
Sanchez has been dogged by persistent blisters since spring training, pitching just 36 innings through the season’s first four months. He thought he was over the issues when he made a pair of minor-league rehab outings and two major-league starts without incident earlier this month.
But during a start Wednesday on a humid Boston night, a fresh blister formed, which forced Sanchez out of the game after only four innings and 79 pitches.
“We’ve just got to get this thing out. I can’t control when there’s going to be a blister on my finger,” Sanchez said. “So, we’ll address it, fix it, and move on.”
This blister is in a new area, in between the spots on the side and the top of the finger where he’s had previous blisters. Sanchez thinks that the portion of his finger nail he had removed earlier this season is beginning to grow back in that area, causing the issue.
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Sanchez is encouraged that the new blister is not as painful or sensitive as his previous ones. His last two eventually hardened and callused over, which is what he’ll wait to see from the new one before he gets back on the mound.
“It’s just a waiting game now,” Sanchez said. “You’ve got to make sure that blood and everything dries up, that skin underneath there gets hard, and then you should be in good shape.”
Sanchez met with a hand specialist in Cleveland Friday, who told him similar things he’s heard from other doctors in the past. This specialist did, however, present a possible treatment Sanchez could undergo this off-season to the tissue in his finger. But the right-hander isn’t considering that just yet, with his primary focus remaining on a return to the mound before the end of the season.
The 25-year-old has clearance to continue playing catch at about 70-80 per cent strength with a protective wrapping on the finger, which he hopes will help him maintain arm strength until he’s ready to return. He’ll only throw his four-seam fastball, however, as his two-seamer and curveball put pressure on the affected area.
With Toronto’s post-season hopes growing increasingly remote, and blister issues continuing to crop up for the promising young starter, Sanchez was asked if there had been any discussion of shutting him down for the year in order to let his finger fully heal. He said that’s the last thing on his mind.
“That’s not even in the equation for me,” Sanchez said. “I will not let that happen. I’m going to overcome this one way or another.”
Getting back on the mound before the end of the season is a sticking point for Sanchez, who led the American League in ERA last year and pushed himself further than he has in the past this winter to build off of that breakout campaign in 2017.
“I’ve done so much work up until this point and had so many goals set going into this year,” he said. “It’s definitely frustrating. But this game will throw a lot of crazy things at you. It’s how you respond. And that’s where I’m at now.”
Sanchez recently reached out to Rich Hill, the Los Angeles Dodgers starter who has battled significant blister issues over the last two seasons. Sanchez has yet to speak to Hill beyond text messages, but is looking forward to hearing what advice the left-hander can offer.
Francisco Liriano will start for Toronto Monday in Sanchez’s place. The left-hander will be pitching on short rest, but after throwing only 54 pitches in his last start, and 50 in the outing before that, the Blue Jays are confident Liriano will be ready to go. The club’s plan is for Cesar Valdez to then start Tuesday, but that could change if he’s needed out of the bullpen in the coming days.
While the Blue Jays bullpen has been a rare strong point for the club this season, it has needed to pitch an MLB-high 76.2 innings in July, as the club’s starting pitching has consistently had trouble pitching deep into ballgames. Blue Jays starters are averaging only 4.2 innings per outing this month.
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Right-handed reliever Chris Smith was recalled from triple-A Buffalo Saturday to provide reinforcements. This is Smith’s second stint with the Blue Jays this season after he joined the big-league club briefly last month, making his MLB debut — before being sent back down. He’s pitched to a 4.43 ERA with Buffalo this season, serving at times as the Bisons closer.
Joe Smith also rejoined the Blue Jays Saturday after missing five weeks due to inflammation in his right shoulder. Left-handed reliever Jeff Beliveau was designated for assignment which, along with Sanchez’s placement on the DL, made room for the two Smiths.
Beliveau had been with the Blue Jays since early June, when he was recalled from triple-A. He pitched serviceably in middle-relief and mop-up situations, but simply didn’t have it in his most recent outing Friday night, when he faced six batters and didn’t retire a single one. All six eventually came around to score, raising his ERA from 4.02 to 7.47.
