Aaron Sanchez is back in the Toronto Blue Jays' bullpen, and though it may not be the role he envisioned upon his return from the disabled list, the 23-year-old is proving his value.
"When I came back off the DL, I felt like I had something to prove," Sanchez told John Lott of the National Post. "I wanted to do it as a starter and I felt like I was coming into my own, and then I miss a month, and it's like I still have something to prove."
Sanchez began the season in the Blue Jays' rotation, starting 11 games with mixed results before a lat strain sidelined him in June.
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With Toronto's addition of David Price at the trade deadline, improved performances from the rest of the rotation, and a need for stabilization at the back end of the bullpen, the Jays needed Sanchez elsewhere - a move he learned to accept.
"At the start, I wasn't happy with it because I'd been coming back as a starter," he said. "But we're here now and it’s all good."
"They sat me down and told me the reasoning - we lost 15 games after the seventh inning prior to the All-Star break, and if we just win half of those we're in first place by seven games," Sanchez added. "So I understood."
Since returning to the bullpen, Sanchez has allowed just two hits and one earned run, while striking out nine in 9 2/3 innings of work.