Astros: Aaron Sanchez to miss part of 2020 after shoulder surgery

Aaron Sanchez was to be the Houston Astros next makeover project until pectoral soreness led to shoulder surgery. His days in Houston are now numbered.

Houston Astros right-hander Aaron Sanchez underwent shoulder surgery last week, a procedure that will keep him out of action into next season, per Astros beat writer Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.

Sanchez made it to the major leagues as a 21-year-old with the Blue Jays in 2014. After pitching mostly out of the bullpen for two seasons, Sanchez broke out in 2016 by leading the league in ERA and win percentage over 30 starts for an 89-win Toronto team. The 192 innings he pitched that year remain a career-best as he finished an incredible 15-2 with a 3.00 ERA/3.55 FIP.

Cosmic comeuppance came this season for Sanchez as he took the loss in ten straight starts from May 27 to July 17. The Astros would acquire him at the trade deadline with Joe Biagini in exchange for Derek Fisher, a once top prospect who had been unable to make the leap to productive regular in Houston.

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Injuries took their toll year-after-year on Sanchez since his breakout season as a 23-year-old. He made just 28 starts combined in 2017 and 2018 while struggling with command when he could make it to the hill. In what turned out to be his final season in Toronto, Sanchez was 3-14 with a 6.07 ERA/5.03 FIP at the time of his trade to Houston.

The Astros had a plan for Sanchez, however, and during his short time in Houston, it looked like Sanchez might be their newest reclamation project. In his very first start as an Astro, Sanchez went six hitless innings against the Mariners in setting the stage for a combined no-hitter. Will Harris, Biagini, and Chris Devenski finished the job as Astros-magic found an immediate foothold with the once-promising right-hander.

The Sanchez project would climb no higher, unfortunately, as the California native made just four starts before going down for the year, and none with quite the flourish as in his Astros debut.

Given his lengthy injury history, the Houston Astros likely won’t be relying on much from Sanchez in 2020. There was hope he would emerge as an effective relief option in the postseason, a role he has some familiarity with from his early days in Toronto, and that may very well be the ceiling for Sanchez when he returns to big league action.

The apparent severity of Aaron Sanchez’s surgery makes him a strong non-tender candidate this offseason. He’ll be due at least a modest raise on his $3.9MM 2019 salary. At that price point, one has to wonder whether Sanchez will be worth rostering, given his injury history and general ineffectiveness over the past few seasons.