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Aaron Sanchez had a rough night against the Phillies, giving up five runs on five hits and three walks over 3.1 innings in the Blue Jays’ 7-1 loss against their spring training neighbours. After the game, manager John Gibbons revealed that Sanchez had popped a blister on his right middle finger during his final start of spring training.
Gibbons said Sanchez popped a blister on a finger on his pitching hand partway through tonight's start, which might explain command issues.
— John Lott (@LottOnBaseball) March 28, 2017
Blister issues are nothing new for Sanchez, who had issues with blisters on the same finger all last year that caused him to miss a start, en route to winning the ERA title.
Sanchez was quoted say that he feels good and strong and that he feels he’s “ready to go.” However, perhaps the Blue Jays could use this blister issue to their advantage.
Last week, Gibbons told reporters that Marco Estrada, J.A. Happ, Marcus Stroman, and Francisco Liriano will all start before Aaron Sanchez, who has his next start scheduled for April 8, 11 days away. That means the Blue Jays can have him start the season on the new 10-day disabled list and still have him start on his scheduled day while giving the club a few more days to decide on the final roster spot, perhaps saving Ryan Goins from being DFAed (at least right away).