Toronto Blue Jays name Aaron Sanchez fifth starter

With six days until Opening Day, the Toronto Blue Jays have named Aaron Sanchez to the starting rotation.

Heading into Spring Training, one of the biggest questions for the Blue Jays was who would earn the fifth spot in the rotation. There were three pitchers fighting for the role, Aaron Sanchez, Drew Hutchison, and Gavin Flyod, with Sanchez being the most vocal about wanting to be in the rotation.

On Monday morning, Manager John Gibbons announced that it was Sanchez who would be starting after a strong Spring. In five games of Grape Fruit League action, he picked up two wins with an ERA of 1.35 and recorded 19 strikeouts over 20 innings pitched.

This is not the first time that Sanchez will start the season in the rotation as he was a starter to start the 2015 season. After returning from injury, the Blue Jays decided to use him out of the bullpen rather than put him back in the rotation. In the pen, he thrived for Toronto as their seventh and eighth inning guy and was key to the team’s success last season.

But Sanchez really wanted to get back into the rotation for this season and spent the winter working with Marcus Stroman to add muscle and durability to be in the best possible shape to prove he could be a starter. Sanchez and Stroman have been friends since they first met as prospects for the Blue Jays, and Stroman was just as vocal as Sanchez about wanting to be in the rotation with his best friend/

Sanchez may be starting in the rotation, but Gibbons was clear that it will not last the entire season. This way the team can manage the young pitchers workload. It also means that there will be chances for Floyd and Hutchison to see time as starters.

Floyd will start the year out of the bullpen, while Hutchison was optioned to Buffalo where he will begin the year with the Triple-A Bisons.