Washington Nationals: What comes next for Aníbal Sánchez?

DENVER — With his move to the 60-day injured list on Tuesday, Washington Nationals pitcher Aníbal Sánchez will have plenty of work to do before returning to the Washington rotation, manager Dave Martinez told reporters before Washington opened a three-game road set against the Colorado Rockies.

What comes next for Washington Nationals pitcher Aníbal Sánchez after being placed on the 60-day injured list?

The 38-year-old Sánchez was placed on the 10-day injured list on April 11 (retroactive to April 8) with cervical nerve impingement. Martinez said that Sanchez had done some throwing but experienced some stiffness in his neck area and couldn’t turn his head in one direction.

“So we shut him down immediately, got another MRI, and it revealed the same thing,” Martinez said. “Now it’s just a matter of him doing some exercises and trying to see if he can relieve the pain a little bit.”

Sánchez last pitched in an MLB game on September 26, 2020, earning the win against the New York Mets. After sitting out the 2021 campaign, Sánchez signed a minor league contract as 2022’s spring training activities began ramping up. He did make the Opening Day roster for the Washington Nationals, but never got the chance to pitch with the impingement.

Martinez said that Sánchez is “not able to do much of anything” at the moment.

“He’s getting better, but it’s going to take him a while to get back into that starting role as a pitcher,” Martinez said. “He has to build himself back up. Basically, he’s going to have to have spring training all over again because he has gotten so far behind.

“My biggest concern with him is making sure that he’s 100 percent healthy. Once he gets there and once he’s pain-free, then he can start throwing again and getting ready to come up here and help us win games.”

With the 60-day designation, the earliest Sánchez could return would be the first week of July. However, knowing he will have to “build himself back up,” it could well be after the All-Star break at the earliest when he could return. Martinez added that Sánchez will stay in the D.C. area to work on his health and he will stay with the Nationals training staff until he is ready to begin throwing again.

Sánchez made his MLB debut on June 25, 2006, and has appeared in 350 games (327 starts) during his 15-year career.

His move to the 60-day injured list freed up roster space for the return of Dee Gordon-Strange from the COVID-19 injured list. Additionally, infielder Lucius Fox was optioned to Triple-A Rochester.