Anibal Sanchez, whom the Braves signed to a minor-league deal March 16, was available to pitch out of the bullpen Monday against the Nationals.
Unless needed for multiple-inning outing, the 34-year-old will pitch sparingly in preparation of assuming the fifth starter job as early as April 8.
“He’ll just be in the pen starting,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “He’s gassed up and ready to go, so we could probably use him – obviously he’s a long-guy if something happened early – and give him an inning or two here or there. He’s been stretched out now and made the other start to get stretched out again.”
Sanchez made his bullpen debut Monday against the Nationals. He pitched three innings, walking three, striking out two and allowing just one hit.
Snitker liked what he saw from Sanchez in what essentially amounted to mop-up duty in an 8-1 loss.
“He was real good,” Snitker said, while adding Sanchez will get a couple days off. “Mixed in pitches really well, threw the ball around. He knows what he’s doing.”
Luiz Gohara, who was the presumed fifth starter before missing spring training with groin and ankle injuries, is progressing but still unlikely to join the team before May.
There’s no timetable for Gohara’s return, but Sanchez will likely make at least a couple starts in April, though his first could be delayed depending on how the Braves use him in the days prior.
“Obviously, right now if we don’t use him, he’s the guy that we’ll plug in there whenever we decide to do it,” Snitker said. “The games prior to that will determine whether or not it’s him. If we can use him along those lines (one inning), then that’ll be good. If something happens, he’s got to get extended prior to that, then we’ll just adjust as we go. That was the whole idea. Getting him another start Wednesday when he did, stretch him out again.”
Sanchez owns a career 4.09 ERA across 12 seasons with the Marlins and Tigers. He’s exceeded 105 innings in each of the past five seasons.
