Giants Send Sanchez to DL

It turns out that Jonathan Sanchez was not as healthy as he made it out to be after his last start.  The pitcher was not willing to place the blame for his extremely erratic June on injury; instead he stated he’s just having a hard time finding the plate.

It turns out he’s also been dealing with left biceps tendinitis and will have a few weeks to hopefully get back to right, as the Giants have placed Sanchez on the 15 day disabled list.

Sanchez has been severely struggling with his command this season and especially in June.  After his Friday start in which he walked 6 in only 4.2 innings, manager Bruce Bochy apparently had enough.

Sanchez met with Bochy and other team officials this weekend to discuss what the next step would be for the left hander.  During their conversation Sanchez admitted that he has been feeling some discomfort in his arm over his past few starts, but was hoping to pitch through it before resting over the All-Star break.

San Francisco has decided it best for Sanchez to be shut down and given an extended period to recover.

"“It’s been in there a little bit, but they had it under control,” Bochy said. “You can get it under control, but if you don’t knock it out, it gradually gets worse. It started to affect him early in the game. You saw his velocity go down. There comes a time you just have to take a break to get it cleared up, and we’re at that point right now.”"

It has yet to be determined who will take Sanchez’s next turn in the rotation.  Barry Zito will return from the DL to pitch Tuesday in the team’s double header, but the Giants’ still need another starter to pitch later in the week.

While Sanchez didn’t sound like he was going to give up his spot in the rotation without a fight after Friday’s start, the 28 year old is now seeing that some time off is perhaps best for everyone involved.

"“We did the best thing for the team and for me,” Sanchez said. “I wasn’t pitching well. We need to win some games, and I need to get better.”"