Aaron Sanchez Will Throw Off a Mound Next Week

2017 is a year Aaron Sanchez would like to forget. In a season when nearly everything went wrong, he’s ready to leave behind everything that happened last season.

Blister issues plagued Sanchez all season long, which eventually led to a sprained tendon in his middle right finger. A seemingly innocent and innocuous issue cost him his entire season and put his future in jeopardy.

While fans may have feared the worst for Sanchez, he’s progressing well and set to clear a major hurdle next week. Along with teammate Dalton Pompey, Sanchez appeared on Sportsnet 650 Vancouver and gave an update on his status:

I’m 100%, I’ve been throwing for four weeks now. I’ll be throwing off a mound next week.  Everything’s good, though. I just needed time. Time’s the only thing that helped.

I was still trying to come back during the year and I was kind of prolonging that. Once the offseason came and I took the time off, I took 13 weeks off; no nothing. No gripping, no anything. Everything feels good.

By my count, Sanchez hasn’t thrown off a mound since September 1st of last year, which is just over four months ago. After suffering a setback, Sanchez was shut down on September 10th but resumed throwing back on December 12th (via Shi Davidi).

Throwing off a mound is the next big benchmark for Sanchez and it’s encouraging to hear he’s progressing well and isn’t suffering from any lingering issues from his blister or sprained tendon.

From there, the next step is to get him into a simulated game and eventually facing live batters again. With pitchers and catchers set to report in just over one month, Sanchez may get the opportunity to return to action much sooner than many anticipated he would.