Skip to content

5 reasons why Sanchez should stay in the rotation

Ralph Freso / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Everyone has an opinion on the Aaron Sanchez innings debate. Unfortunately, the only people with opinions that actually matter are tired of talking about it.

"I'm not answering that anymore," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said during Monday's post-game presser following another brilliant start from Sanchez, who just about equaled his career high in innings pitched with seven scoreless frames against San Diego Monday night. "If it happens, you'll know about it."

Though it doesn’t quite carry the cachet of the 2012 Stephen Strasburg shutdown, Sanchez’s innings are being second-guessed by everyone from the front office and management, who intend on transitioning him to the bullpen, to former Cy Young winner Pat Hentgen, who says the team should keep him in the rotation until his limit and then end his season, and of course to the fans, who so desperately want the Blue Jays to return to October and know their chances of doing so may hinge on the availability of their hottest pitcher.

We'd also like to see Sanchez stay in the rotation, because he's fun to watch and we love watching the best. Here are our five reasons why:

1. He's too good

He's not quite pitching at 2012 Strasburgian levels - the Nationals star owned a FIP more than a half run lower than Sanchez with a much higher strikeout rate - but the Blue Jays right-hander has without question emerged as one of the top pitchers in the AL this season.

On Monday, Sanchez became the first Blue Jays pitcher since Roy Halladay in 2003 to win 10 straight decisions, and according to ESPN Stats & Info, sports the second-lowest ERA (2.72) among qualified AL starters for a pitcher in his age-23 season in the wild-card era. There’s a lot of qualifiers in that stat, but the most important one: the only ERA lower was Felix Hernandez's in 2009.

2. Winning the division

After Monday’s start, Sanchez’s innings total sits at 132 1/3 - three outs shy of his combined high of 133 1/3 in 2014. Last year, he threw a total of 109 innings, so there's concern over how big his jump in workload will be this season, especially if the Blue Jays make a deep playoff run. But they have to get there first.

Entering Tuesday, the Blue Jays sat three games back of division-leading Baltimore, and own a 1 1/2-game lead over Houston for the second wild card. The Blue Jays would obviously prefer a five-game series to open the postseason rather than a one-game playoff, which means those 15 games remaining against Baltimore and Boston will go a long way in determining the division.

Can you imagine not pitching your best arm in those games?

3. Creative alternatives

Rather than run him to his team-imposed starter limit and then work him out of the bullpen, the Blue Jays could take a more creative approach with either skipped starts or abbreviated outings.

The New York Mets used a similar strategy with Matt Harvey (who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury this year) at the end of last season, but it’s possible they waited too long (end of September) to execute the idea.

Unlike Harvey, Sanchez isn’t coming off Tommy John surgery, and there are more than two months left to begin penny pinching his pitches. Overall, he’s pitched with good efficiency this season (he sits sixth in the AL in innings pitched, but just 24th in total pitches thrown), so the one thing he does have going for him is he hasn't had many stressful starts. The Blue Jays can always re-evaluate his health come the playoffs, if they get there.

4. Stroman isn't helping

Marcus Stroman was supposed to make this decision much easier, but the undisputed preseason ace of the staff has not been the pitcher the Blue Jays needed nor expected. Sanchez’s best buddy has allowed a league-leading 70 earned runs this season, while watching his home run rate jump and walk frequency rise. If Stroman were to turn the clock back all of a sudden to say, September 2015, the Blue Jays could rest easier knowing they've got help for Marco Estrada and J.A. Happ.

5. Who says he's any healthier in the bullpen?

Protecting a pitcher’s health is nuanced, subjective, and best left to the experts who are still searching themselves for the tried and true template.

There are well-informed studies out there that suggest even a 40-inning increase from a pitcher's previous high, particularly at Sanchez's age, can dramatically increase the chances for injury. So, yes, there's evidence to suggest the Blue Jays are risking Sanchez’s health with every start he makes from here on out. But every pitcher is different and we've seen pitchers of all workloads tear UCLs.

Who's to say Sanchez, knowing full and well he’s been a Cy Young candidate thus far, doesn’t overexert himself in the bullpen three times a week by overthrowing and changing his approach to suit shorter, higher-leverage situations?

Unfortunately, none of us know the right answer. We just know we love watching brilliance in action.

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox