The Twins are bringing back veteran right-hander Aaron Sanchez, re-signing him to a minor league deal, according to his MLB transaction log.
Sanchez joined the Twins in June last year after an unsuccessful stint with the Nationals. He was a solid option in Minnesota, working to a 4.71 ERA over 28 2/3 innings (three starts, five relief appearances). While it was a small sample size, he did lift his strikeout rate back above 20% for the first time since 2016. Prior to that, he’d made seven starts for Washington in 2022, working to an 8.33 ERA with a meager 11.4% punch-out rate.
Sanchez, a first round pick by the Blue Jays in 2010, was once one of the brightest young pitchers in the sport, featuring regularly among baseball’s top-50 prospects prior to his 2014 debut. The hype appeared to be for real when Sanchez delivered a brilliant 2016 campaign, tossing 192 innings of 3.00 ERA ball for the Blue Jays, earning a trip to the All Star game and finishing seventh in AL Cy Young voting.
Unfortunately for him, various injuries have derailed his career and Sanchez has never passed the 150 inning mark since that 2016 season. He’s also seen his performance drop off significantly, working to a 5.29 ERA over 367 2/3 innings between 2017-22 for the Blue Jays, Astros, Giants, Nationals and Twins.
Now 30, Sanchez will presumably compete for long relief role in the Twins bullpen in the spring, or head to Triple-A as a depth starter.
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