Blue Jays face trade deadline, Aaron Sanchez decisions
For the third straight year the Blue Jays are in position to buy before the non-waiver trade deadline, and given their history, the run-up to the Aug. 1 deadline will be fascinating.
Toronto stood pat in 2014 and soon fell out of the playoff race. They made up for it in 2015 by pulling off two stunning blockbusters, acquiring David Price and Troy Tulowitzki, on top of two more minor moves and making a run to the American League Championship Series. 2016 will probably be somewhere in between – barring a trade for White Sox ace Chris Sale – which reflects where the Blue Jays stand as an organization, where the team sits in the standings, and the quality of the trade market.
Before addressing potential acquisitions, though, how the Blue Jays handle the deadline will be a likely indicator of what the short-term future holds Aaron Sanchez. Sanchez is eight innings away from hitting his high for innings pitched in a season (133 1/3 innings between the majors and minors in 2014). Manager John Gibbons and general manager Ross Atkins have been tight-lipped on what exactly the plan is for Sanchez, and their insistence that the 24-year-old right-hander will ultimately end up in the bullpen has wavered recently. You can see why: Sanchez has a 10-1 record and a 2.87 ERA in 19 starts and was rewarded with a spot on the AL roster at this month's All-Star game.
But his long-term health is still the priority, and while the science is inexact, it does show the prudent action is to err on the side of caution. Sanchez averaged just under three innings per week as a reliever for much of the second half of last season, which should give the team a good idea of when the time is right to make the switch.
If the Blue Jays go out and get a starting pitcher like Athletics left-hander Rich Hill or Padres right-hander Andrew Cashner, Sanchez's return to a relief role could come sooner rather than later.
If the thought is that Sanchez can last a little longer in the rotation then a reliever would be the right call. Left-handers like Will Smith of the Brewers, Boone Logan of the Rockies, and Zack Duke of the White Sox are believed to be available while Joe Smith of the Angels and Tyler Clippard of the Diamondbacks are the most realistic right-handed options.
Even with Drew Storen being designated for assignment over the weekend there is less urgency to upgrade the bullpen, because the May trade for Jason Grilli may end up being the most important one Atkins and the front office make this season. Grilli has been mostly used as a set-up man since coming over from the Braves for closer Roberto Osuna and has stepped up with a 2.18 ERA in 18 appearances. A back end of Osuna, Grilli, Sanchez and either a new left-hander or Brett Cecil is good enough for a contender, with Joe Biagini, Jesse Chavez, and Bo Schultz providing more than adequate support.
There's no desperate need for Toronto to upgrade the infield or outfield depth, either, as Darwin Barney, Ryan Goins, and Ezequiel Carrera are playing up to or above expectations and Jose Bautista's return from injury Monday brings the squad back to full-strength.
Which is to say that the Blue Jays, currently in the second wild-card spot in the AL and three games behind the first-place Orioles in the division, are in a good spot. And what they do before next Monday's deadline will give us a better read on Sanchez's situation than it will of significantly increasing the team's odds of winning the World Series.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
