Miami Marlins Need To Bring Back Anibal Sanchez Right Now

With two starting pitchers sidelined just three games into the season, the Miami Marlins need to waste no time bringing back Anibal Sanchez.

Coming into the 2021 MLB season, the Miami Marlins boasted plenty of young pitching depth.

Three games into the 2021 MLB season, the Miami Marlins are starting to seriously rethink that assessment.

Saturday’s resounding 12-7 victory over Tampa Bay came at a heavy cost, as starter Elieser Hernandez left in the third inning with what was eventually diagnosed as right biceps tendon inflammation. That news came just two days after it was determined that top prospect Sixto Sanchez, already starting the year in the minors due to a slew of non-injury related delays in spring training, was suffering from an inflamed shoulder. Which was not what you wanted to hear in a year where every MLB team was expecting to be overly cautious about stretching out their pitchers following last year’s 60-game season.

And oh yes, forgot about No. 2 pitching prospect Edward Cabrera kicking all this off with a sore elbow in the first week of camp. Or the fact that veteran Gio Gonzalez failed to regain his form and retired last week.

At this point, that lack of a veteran capable of churning out some innings every fifth day could really hamstring the Marlins going forward.  Which brings us to the point of this article, and the very simple solution to this problem:

The Miami Marlins need to bring back Anibal Sanchez.

Sanchez, of course, made his MLB debut with the Marlins in 2006. He had a standout season that year despite a late June debut, one capped off by throwing the franchise’s fourth no-hitter. He played parts of six seasons with Miami.

Right now, too, as current speculation has some NL East rivals amongst the interested parties in the free agent righty. Keeping him away from the Nats, Braves, and Phillies feels like reason enough to sign him, considering Sanchez’s career 3.06 ERA against Miami. However, what is of far more interest to me than the fact that some division rivals are listed in the report is the fact that the Marlins were among the teams that attended his initial showcase back in January.

Basically, before any of the above injury stuff happened, the Marlins were interested in bringing in a veteran option as either part of the rotation, or a dependable fallback in the minors. Interested, and interested in Sanchez specifically. Ultimately, Gonzalez became that option.

Again, that option retired. So here the Miami Marlins sit, three injuries later, with 159 games to go.

While the behind the scenes view in Miami’s front office is surely one with an eye on really contending in 2022, that is not the vibe coming out of the clubhouse. That’s the kind of intensity you reward when trying to instill a winning culture. Signing Sanchez lets the players know the organization is behind them this year, and simultaneously helps to manage Miami’s young arms.

It’s not just Sanchez and Hernandez that could benefit from a gradual reintroduction to the big league roster. Next tier talents like Braxton Garrett and Daniel Castano could surely benefit from not being thrown into the fire right away. There’s something to be said for a sink or swim approach, and it’s one the organization had no choice but to employ in 2021.

They have the flexibility to be cautious in 2022. Cautious, and also aggressive about making a run at being competitive right now.

What does that look like for the Marlins?

It looks like bringing Anibal Sanchez back to Miami.