Aaron Sanchez didn't have a great deal of success in his return to the Toronto Blue Jays organization on Friday.
Starting for the triple-A Buffalo Bisons, the right-hander gave up six runs on five hits in four innings against the visiting Worcester Red Sox. He walked three and didn't record a strikeout. Sanchez threw 66 pitches, 35 for strikes.
Brandon Eisert replaced Sanchez in the fifth, with the Bisons trailing 6-3. Buffalo rallied to win 12-7.
The 31-year-old Sanchez was signed to a minor-league deal by the Jays earlier this week to help the organization's depth amidst several injuries.
After a scoreless first, Sanchez gave up five runs in the second.
Niko Kavadas hit a solo homer off Sanchez in the third to make it 6-0.
Sanchez pitched for Toronto from 2014 to 2019 after being picked 34th overall by the Blue Jays in the 2010 MLB Draft. In his six years with the Jays, he finished with a 32-33 record while pitching to a 3.96 ERA in 571.0 innings pitched. He made 92 starts and 174 appearances for the team.
He earned the only All-Star nod of his career in 2016 and finished seventh in Cy Young voting after carrying a league-leading 3.00 ERA in 192.0 innings pitched for the Blue Jays. Sanchez was a key member of teams that advanced to the ALCS in 2015 and '16.
In his final years in Toronto, he dealt with various hand injuries, limiting his production and he was subsequently traded to the Houston Astros in 2019 as part of a package for outfielder Derek Fisher.
His latest stop was in the minor leagues with the Minnesota Twins and Arizona Diamondbacks last season. He made 22 appearances in triple-A, starting 20 games but finished the year with a rough 5.54 ERA in 89.1 innings.
He last made a major-league appearance in 2022 with the Twins, pitching in eight games and starting three. He finished the year with a 4.71 ERA and became a free agent after the season.
All in all, Sanchez has a career 38-38 record and 4.16 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 541 strikeouts across eight major league seasons.
