TORONTO – Aaron Sanchez isn’t starting on turn Monday and when he next pitches for the Toronto Blue Jays is uncertain after the right-hander visited a specialist over the weekend to have his troublesome index finger re-examined.
Manager John Gibbons confirmed that Sanchez left the team Friday for the appointment, but had no further details on what’s next. The 26-year-old was due to start Monday against the Houston Astros but the team listed Marco Estrada as the probable in his place, with Sam Gaviglio set to go Tuesday. The Blue Jays are TBA for Wednesday’s home finale.
Sanchez caught his finger in a suitcase just before a June 21 start at Anaheim and proceeded to miss 54 games with what the Blue Jays described as a contusion. He’s made five starts since his Aug. 25 activation but his finger has continued to bother him.
Following his Sept. 12 outing in Boston, when he allowed one run on three hits over seven strong innings, Sanchez said: “I’ve just got to get comfortable again. I know what I can do in this game. It’s just a matter of being healthy. When I’m healthy, things like that happen, so you’ve just got to keep plugging along.”
Sanchez missed most of last season due to blister issues and the complications from them on his right index finger. This year blisters haven’t been a problem and he was fine until the incident with the falling suitcase, a freak accident that cost him two months.
The bottom third of his index finger swelled immediately and some swelling has lingered, limiting his ability to manipulate the baseball.
When he rejoined the Blue Jays on Aug. 22, he said he’d been told there was no structural damage in the finger but that it had taken a long time until he progressed enough to resume throwing.
In 20 starts overall this season, Sanchez has posted a 4.89 ERA over 105 innings, allowing 106 hits and 58 walks with 86 strikeouts.
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