Marcus Stroman may have left the Toronto Blue Jays unceremoniously, resulting in an impromptu exit interview in the clubhouse that made headlines, but Aaron Sanchez waxed poetic about his tenure after being traded to the Houston Astros on Wednesday.
"There are many things I'm proud of," Sanchez told reporters, including Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun. "One, to put the jersey on for an entire nation - I don’t think you really understand until you come up here and feel the love from coast to coast.
"This journey started 10 years ago and I was a 17-year-old kid who had aspirations of pitching in the big leagues and this wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for guys like (then-GM) Alex (Anthopoulos) and everyone who did their due diligence on the amateur side to get me in this position."
Sanchez was part of a deadline-day blockbuster that sent him to Houston, along with reliever Joe Biagini and prospect Cal Stevenson, in exchange for outfielder Derek Fisher.
Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins have sold off many of the club's top-tier assets from the 2015 and 2016 playoff rosters that Anthopoulos assembled, and Sanchez and Biagini represented two of the final pieces from those teams. Only Justin Smoak, Devon Travis, Ryan Tepera, Danny Barnes, and Dalton Pompey - who was recently designated for assignment and outrighted to the minors - remain with the organization from that period of success.
Injuries have hobbled Sanchez since winning the ERA title and becoming an All-Star in 2016. He's authored a 5.32 ERA, 5.01 FIP, and 1.64 WHIP in 51 starts since the beginning of 2017.
The 27-year-old will now receive a chance to start at the back end of an Astros rotation that currently consists of Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Wade Miley, and fellow deadline acquisition Zack Greinke. Sanchez leads the major leagues with 14 losses, and he owns a 6.07 ERA and 5.03 FIP over 23 starts this season.
