BOSTON — The upper body soreness that prompted the Toronto Blue Jays to skip Aaron Sanchez’s last turn in the rotation is improving, but the young right-hander could still miss his next start.
Sanchez is slated to pitch Tuesday in New York against the Mets, but said in an interview Saturday that “we haven’t gotten in depth on what we’re going to do,” in terms of building toward that outing. He resumed throwing Thursday but was unsure if he’d throw a side session Sunday, which would align with Tuesday.
The plan is to “just kind of play it by ear, I’m on whatever they tell me to do. It’s one of those things where I come in and say, ‘This is what we got today, and go from there,’” he said.
Sanchez pitched into the ninth inning during his last outing June 5 against Houston, and when the normal pitcher soreness didn’t ebb as quickly as it usually does, Scott Copeland was recalled to pitch against the Miami Marlins on Wednesday.
That soreness is “on its way out,” said Sanchez, adding, “We’ll see when the time comes.”
One scenario for the Blue Jays is to give Sanchez another start off, placing him on the disabled list in order to recall Copeland, who can only be brought up to replace an injured player because he hasn’t been on option for 10 days yet.
The Blue Jays could backdate a DL stint to June 6, making Sanchez eligible to return June 21 just in time for his next scheduled turn.
Copeland, on turn with Sanchez, pitched brilliantly against the Marlins in his first career big-league start, allowing one run on six hits over seven innings. The matchup is also a good one — a sinkerballer against a non-descript lineup at a spacious ballpark like Citi Field.
Nothing is carved in stone yet, but it’s a possibility. For now, Sanchez is focused on making gains.
“Everything is going the way we thought,” he said. “So we’ll see how these next few days go.”
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HARRIS DEAL DONE: The Blue Jays and first-round pick Jon Harris have agreed to a deal for the No. 29 pick’s assigned value of $1,944,800 pending a physical, multiple sources told Sportsnet.
The signing could become official Sunday.
The Missouri State right-hander got some top-10 draft buzz but slipped to the Blue Jays, who were thrilled to get him where they did. Some analysts describe him as a pitcher who could progress through the system quickly.
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ON THE MOVE: Prospect Matt Boyd was promoted from double-A New Hampshire to triple-A Buffalo and will start for the Bisons on Sunday. The 24-year-old lefty went 6-1 with a 1.10 ERA and 0.774 WHIP in 12 starts with the Fisher-Cats, and the Blue Jays are eager to test him against stronger competition. … Steve Tolleson (groin) is continuing his rehab assignment with Buffalo. The Blue Jays are without a backup infielder and have been going day-to-day on that, but may want one in time for their two National League games coming up.
