Former SF Giants pitcher signs minor league deal with Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks inked former SF Giants starting pitcher Aaron Sanchez to a minor-league contract earlier this week.

The Arizona Diamondbacks signed right-handed pitcher Aaron Sanchez to a minor-league contract earlier this week. A once-promising young pitcher with the Blue Jays, Sanchez spent a good chunk of the 2021 season with the SF Giants. Now, Sanchez will try to help the Giants division rival in Arizona, who is struggling to find its footing after leading the National League West earlier this summer. 

Former SF Giants pitcher Aaron Sanchez throws a pitch during his Blue Jays tenure. (2019) / Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Sanchez was a formidable and highly-ranked prospect across baseball early in his career. He was drafted by the Blue Jays in 2010 in the first round with the 34th overall selection, as a 17-year-old straight out of Barstow, California. Though his win-loss records in the minors and peripheral statistics weren't the strongest, he continued to be a top-ranked national prospect through his major league debut in 2014. 

In his first season with the Blue Jays in 2014, he pitched out of the bullpen and recorded a 1.09 ERA in 24 appearances over 33.0 innings for the team. By 2015, Sanchez was ranked by MLB as the number 3 prospect in the Blue Jays' organization, and the 44th-best prospect in the minor leagues. That season, he was expected to pitch as a closer for the team, but after fellow teammate Marcus Stroman tore his ACL, he ended up earning a starting position in their rotation. He made 41 appearances in 2015, 11 of them starts, and earned a 3.22 ERA over 92.1 innings pitched.

But 2016 was his most spectacular season by far; he pitched 192.0 innings, appearing in 30 games, all starts. He earned a 3.00 ERA, coming away with a 15-2 record on the season, was voted an All-Star, and finished 7th place in AL Cy Young voting. Late that season, though, he developed a blister that affected his ability to pitch, and limited his appearances in 2017. He never fully returned to his 2016 form, and the Jays traded him to the Astros in 2019.

He made only four appearances for the Astros before hitting the injured list with a torn capsule in his right shoulder, which they expected to keep him out for all of 2019 and potentially 2020. After missing the shortened COVID 2020 season to injury as expected, he signed a $4 million contract with the Giants in 2021. 

He appeared nine times for the team, pitching 35.1 innings with a 3.06 ERA, but suffered an injury to his bicep and was placed on the 60-day IL. Though he showed flashes of his brilliance in 2016, the Giants were on the quest for the NL West title that year and needed the roster space, so they ultimately designated him for assignment.

After his stint with the SF Giants, he spent time in 2022 with the Washington Nationals and the Minnesota Twins but couldn't find a permanent place on either roster. With Minnesota, he pitched nearly 75 innings, but his 5.30 ERA wasn't putting him in a position to crack their major league pitching rotation or bullpen, so he was cut. His new minor league contract with the Diamondbacks comes at a time where aside from their two best starters in the majors, their rotation is starting to falter.