With Vince Velasquez slated to start in place of Matt Moore Friday evening in Colorado, the Philadelphia Phillies appear to at least be considering an external addition to the starting rotation.
Jon Heyman of Audacy Sports reports that the Phillies were among the teams that watched veteran Aníbal Sánchez’s showcase at Florida International University Friday. In addition to the Phillies, Heyman says the New York Yankees, Miami Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers and Arizona Diamondbacks attended Sánchez’s workout.
Earlier this week, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that in addition to the Marlins and Tigers, the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals, two other teams he’s already played for, also are interested in a potential reunion.
Sánchez, per Heyman, is “nearly ready,” adding that he hit 92 mph and was consistently throwing at 90 Friday.
Now 37, Sánchez struggled in 11 starts with the Nationals a season ago, posting a 6.62 ERA and 5.46 FIP. That said, Sánchez posted a 3.85 ERA, 4.44 FIP and 2.4 fWAR in 30 starts two seasons ago, and was excellent in the team’s World Series run. Is it possible he could be an upgrade over Moore and/or Chase Anderson? Sure.
It should be noted that this was Sánchez’s second showcase, with Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reporting in January that the Phillies attended his first one. That said, Sánchez’s first showcase was cut short by a middle finger cut. MLB.com‘s Jon Morosi reported previously that the Phillies had interest in Sánchez.
The Phillies do have quite a bit of prior connections to Sánchez. Joe Girardi managed Sánchez with the then-Florida Marlins in 2006. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski acquired Sánchez from the Marlins in the summer of 2012 when he was leading the front office of the Detroit Tigers.
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