Detroit Tigers Wise To Move Anibal Sanchez Back To Bullpen

At the beginning of the month, Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez was moved to the bullpen after going 3-6 with a 6.67 ERA over his first 11 starts. After being demoted to a relief role, Sanchez appeared to get it together, posting a 1.86 ERA over six appearances.

This past Saturday, Sanchez returned to the starting rotation, but his outing did not go particularly well. He ended up going five innings against the Cleveland Indians, allowing four earned runs on five hits while walking two and striking out three. It has now been announced that he will be moving back to the bullpen.

Anibal Sanchez returning to bullpen work, Brad Ausmus said.

— Jason Beck (@beckjason) June 28, 2016

Seeing as how the Tigers’ bullpen has posted a bloated 4.39 ERA up to this point and Sanchez has already proved that he can help the team in a relief role, moving him back to the bullpen is a very logical choice at this particular point in time. Sanchez has also struggled to work deep into games this season, pitching beyond six innings only once, so having a lighter workload in the bullpen could be beneficial for him.

Moreover, with Daniel Norris back with the team, the starting rotation is full now as well. The Tigers have Justin Verlander, Jordan Zimmermann, Michael Fulmer and Mike Pelfrey filling out the other four spots. Norris had a respectable outing in his first start of 2016, and the youngster clearly deserves to get a longer look. His next start will come Wednesday afternoon against the Miami Marlins.

Just a couple of years ago, it would have been difficult to believe that a relief role would be in Sanchez’s future. Right now, however, it appears that this is the best way he can help the team.