Royals sign former Blue Jays All Star to free agent contract

Billy Heyen

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Royals sign former Blue Jays All Star to free agent contract image

The Kansas City Royals have stayed busy this offseason with under-the-radar moves.

The latest is signing a former All-Star pitcher from the Toronto Blue Jays to a low-risk free agent contract.

The signing: Aaron Sanchez.

Fansided's Robert Murray reported Tuesday that it's a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.

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Sanchez is 33 years old now and a long way removed from his peak with the Royals, but there's reason for optimism.

He just had a stellar winter in the Dominican Republic, where he won the league's Pitcher of the Year award.

Sanchez threw 46.1 innings in the Dominican Winter League with a 1.55 ERA and 34 strikeouts.

His last MLB action came in 2022, when he split time between the Washington Nationals and Minnesota Twins.

The Blue Jays originally chose him No. 34 overall in the 2010 MLB Draft.

He debuted in 2014, and he made the All-Star Game in 2016.

That 2016 season was Sanchez's best. He finished the year an absurd 15-2, and he had a 3.00 ERA with 161 strikeouts in 192 innings pitched.

He never threw more than 131.1 innings in a season again as injuries started to hamper him.

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Sanchez eventually spent a bit of time pitching for the Astros and the Giants before that split 2022 season with the Nats and Twins.

His career MLB ERA is 4.16 in 174 appearances, 113 of those starts. He strikes out 7.1 batters per nine innings and walks 3.8, not an ideal ratio.

Sanchez pitched in two Triple-A cities in 2023, both St. Paul and Reno.

In 2024, he pitched for the Blue Jays' Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo but had a 7.92 ERA. 

He hadn't pitched professionally at all in 2025 until his winter league performance, which has earned him a chance to impress the Royals in the spring.

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