Sanchez is introducing a cutter to his repertoire this spring, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.
EDGE Analysis
Sanchez debuted back in 2021 but got his first extended run in the rotation in 2023, finishing with a 3.44 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 18 starts and one relief appearance. Backing up those marks was a strong set of peripherals, as his strikeout rate (24.2 percent), walk rate (4.0 percent) and groundball rate (57.0 percent) all beat league average by a wide margin in the latter two cases. He lines up as the Phillies' fifth starter (barring a potential late free-agent addition) and will look to maintain or improve on those numbers of a full-season workload. Given that he threw only three pitches (sinker, changeup and slider) last season, the addition of a fourth weapon could help him do just that, particularly as it could make the Phillies more comfortable asking him to go deeper into games.