Starting pitcher for the Phillies, Cristopher Sánchez, is plagued by a past issue once more this season to center….

Starting pitcher for the Phillies, Cristopher Sánchez, is plagued by a past issue once more this year.

Currently, one of MLB’s deepest starting rotations belongs to the Philadelphia Phillies. With just five spots available and six strong starters, the Phillies have the kind of depth that rival teams like the Miami Marlins and New York Mets could only hope for in 2024. There was talk of using Spencer Turnbull to piggyback Taijuan Walker and Cristopher Sánchez when the Phillies sent him to the bullpen. It made sense for several reasons, not the least of which being that Sánchez’s development as a starting pitcher is still ongoing. Sánchez has only twice in his 30 career starts gone into the seventh inning, indicating that he is not yet the kind of starter who can go deep into games.

His final outing on the field on Monday against the Mets was both amazing and frustrating. Sánchez, who was having trouble maintaining control and had some bruises on the palm of his left pitching hand, reached a low point when he led off with a walk and then asked a trainer to examine his hand. It took just nine pitches to get out of the inning and strike out Jeff McNeil, Brett Baty, and Harrison Bader, allowing them to stay in the game.

It’s difficult not to give Sánchez credit for focussing on the task at hand and getting key outs in an inning that could have gotten further out of hand, even though it wasn’t the best manner to strike out the side.