Sixto Sánchez is finally back

The Miami Marlins received some good news today. No it’s not a new general manager, it’s the imminent return of Sixto Sánchez next season. What can The Fish expect from him next season? Is he going to be as good as he was prior to his injury? Is he going to be useful at all? Is it too early to call our trade of J.T. Realmuto a loss? Let’s find out…

Sixto Sánchez is finally coming back next season.

Sixto Sánchez was the big prize in our trade of J.T. Realmuto and while Realmuto has 6.0 WAR this season, Sixto has 0.0 because he’s not even playing. Sixto has only pitched in 2020 and had a 3.46 ERA/3.50 FIP in 7 games and 39 innings. That was an impressive debut…but also the last time that he was healthy and pitching in the Major Leagues.

Sixto Sánchez is only 24 years old and he already had a surgery to repair a capsule tear in his shoulder. He’s getting another shoulder surgery but is supposed to be back by Spring Training next year. I hope he will be, but after two years of injuries and surgeries it’s almost hard to believe that he’s coming back.

What can we expect from him? He’s obviously going to be on an innings limit and probably an extreme one at that. 50 innings? 40? He’s certainly not getting close to even one hundred. Will he even be in the rotation? I suspect that he’ll get a few spot starts but will mostly be used as a reliever.

Does it make sense to have Sixto Sánchez as a closing candidate? The Miami Marlins could use a shut-down reliever and he definitely has the stuff to be one. Pitching in short bursts may also help prolong his career as well. He might get re-injured otherwise.

The Miami Marlins will finally be getting Sixto Sánchez back next season. Will he be in the rotation? Will he be in the bullpen? Will he be a closer? No one knows but we’ll find out next season. I think that if he emerges as an elite closer the trade can still be a success for us.