Aaron Sanchez delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Royals on Monday.Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images
At this rate, it's hard to imagine the Blue Jays following through with their plan to move Aaron Sanchez to the bullpen.
But in the hours leading up to yet another stellar outing by the 24-year-old, it was repeated that the relief corps is the inevitable late-season destination for the right-hander, who helped the Blue Jays to a 6-2 series-opening victory over Kansas City at Rogers Centre on Monday.
"I would anticipate it," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said before Sanchez matched a season-high eight innings and allowed just one earned run on three hits, improving to 9-1 while lowering his earned-run average to 2.94.
Troy Tulowitzki had two hits and Josh Donaldson and Darwin Barney each drove in a pair of runs as the Blue Jays (46-39) won their third in a row. But more important, it was Toronto's first win over Kansas City since suffering a defeat to the Royals in the 2015 American League Championship Series.
The night, however, belonged to Sanchez, who continued to make his case to remain a starter, allowing only two baserunners through his first six innings before he lost his shutout bid in the seventh when Kendrys Morales launched a solo home run over the wall in right field to tie the game at 1-1.
"That decision is out of my hands," Sanchez said regarding management's intentions to limit his innings. "Hopefully we sit down and talk about it, but like I said, it's out of my hands. There's nothing I can do."
To protect their young hurler, the Blue Jays' long-standing plan has been to eventually remove Sanchez from his spot in the starting rotation and send him to the bullpen, where they can limit his innings and workload. Doing so would theoretically help Sanchez, a former first-round draft pick, avoid injury from overuse.
"[We] continue to monitor it and continue to balance doing the right thing for Aaron and not just the team," Blue Jays president and CEO Mark Shapiro said.
Still, moving Sanchez would create a giant hole in the rotation. Next to Marco Estrada, he has been Toronto's best starter this season, notching quality starts – when a starting pitcher completes at least six innings and allows no more than three earned runs – in 14 of his 17 outings, tying him with three others for the most in the Major Leagues.
Taking him away would leave J.A. Happ (11-3, 3.54 ERA) and Estrada (5-3, 2.93 ERA) as the team's remaining reliable starters. His likely replacement would be right-hander Drew Hutchison, leaving a struggling Marcus Stroman (6-4, 5.08 ERA) and veteran knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (5-9, 4.21 ERA) to round out the rotation.
"If it happens, it happens. Not like it's something I haven't done before," said Sanchez, who has made 54 career appearances (59 1/3 innings) in relief over the past three seasons.
The move would, however, provide the bullpen with some much-needed help. Entering Tuesday, Toronto relievers collectively owned a 4.18 ERA, fifth-worst in the American League. Over the past 30 days, only the Tampa Bay Rays' 'pen (6.32 ERA) has been worse.
On Monday, Toronto's offence came to life late in an eventual rout, chasing Royals starter Edinson Volquez from the game in the seventh after Russell Martin walked, Tulowitzki singled and Kevin Pillar loaded the bases when he was hit by a pitch.
"It's a pretty good lineup over there. You can't make a lot of mistakes," Volquez said. "They make you pay and I did in the seventh inning."
Luke Hochevar replaced Volquez to stop the bleeding, but instead the Blue Jays blew the game wide open. A Devon Travis walk brought home one run, and singles from Barney and Tulowitzki scored two runs apiece to spot Sanchez a five-run lead before he took the mound for his final inning of work.
After an uneventful eighth, left-handed reliever Brett Cecil pitched the ninth, allowing a solo shot to Eric Hosmer before closing things out.
Jamie Ross