Blue Jays send Sanchez to DL for 3rd time

Amid continued problems with his right middle finger, Toronto Blue Jays starter Aaron Sanchez was placed on the disabled list for the third time this season Saturday afternoon, less than 24 hours after navigating a shaky six-inning outing against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards.

According to the club, Sanchez is dealing with a finger laceration, though manager John Gibbons told reporters the young right-hander is once again battling the blister problem that first landed him on the DL in mid-April.

"It's a blister thing," Gibbons said, according to MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm. "We want to knock it out. It's aggravating him. If we don't get rid of it then it'll probably linger forever"

Sanchez, who had part of the nail on his middle finger surgically removed about four weeks ago to quash the blister issues, fired five solid innings last Sunday in his return to the rotation, but said he felt "a little pain" during Friday's outing in Baltimore, where he allowed three runs on six hits and a pair of walks over six innings.

With Sanchez out again, the depth of Toronto's already-thin rotation - J.A. Happ has been out since April 16 while Francisco Liriano landed on the DL last Wednesday - will be tested further. Cesar Valdez, the 32-year-old right-hander recalled from Triple-A on Saturday in a corresponding move, is a candidate to replace Sanchez in the rotation, though the club could look to instead promote either Mat Latos, T.J. House, or Brett Oberholtzer, each of whom would need to be added to the 40-man roster.