Report: Nats among teams eyeing Anibal Sanchez, who could sign with a club soon

Aníbal Sánchez has attracted interest from multiple teams and could sign within the next week, report Jon Heyman of MLB Network and Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post. The Nationals are among the teams with interest in Sánchez, who pitched for Washington from 2019-20.

Sánchez was productive in his first year in D.C. He tossed 166 innings of 3.85 ERA/5.07 SIERA ball in the regular season before making a couple of strong postseason starts during the Nats’ World Series run. His 2019 peripherals were rather poor, hinting at some potential regression. That came in 2020, as Sánchez was tagged for a 6.62 ERA over 53 innings despite posting similar strikeout and walk numbers as the year before.

The Phillies were the only team linked to Sánchez during the winter, but plenty of clubs had representatives on hand for a showcase in which he threw alongside Julio Teheran. Ultimately, Sánchez reportedly turned down multiple major league contract offers over the offseason due to concerns about COVID-19 and accompanying protocols. He wasn’t expected to completely opt out of the season, and it seems he’s now comfortable returning to action. It remains to be seen if those guaranteed offers are still on the table.