Anibal Sanchez has decided with whom he will continue his baseball career, and it’s not the New York Yankees. Or any other MLB club, for that matter.
The Venezuelan Baseball Federation announced Monday that “Sanchez has accepted to represent his country at the WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier,” which begins May 31st in Florida, and serves as a play-in tournament for the Tokyo Olympics.
“I’m very happy for the opportunity,” told Sanchez to the FEVEBEISBOL official website. “There’s been a lot of talk about myself playing for the National Team. I was getting ready for another opportunity at the MLB level. There’s also a time you want to stay with your family. During this time, I received the offer from FEVEBEISBOL, and I accepted. … There are not many baseball players who have earned a World Series ring and an Olympic medal. I have the chance to become one of them.”
Sanchez, who won a World Series ring with the Washington Nationals in 2019, sounds like he’s leaving the door open for a return to the majors later this summer for the stretch run.
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Last month, The Athletics’s Ken Rosenthal reported the free-agent right-hander “continues to evaluate his options as pitching injuries mount throughout the league.” Rosenthal reported Sanchez had been working out at Cressey Sports Performance to build velocity and stretch himself out to 100 pitches.
Cressey Sports Performance is run by Eric Cressey, who oversees the training and strength/conditioning departments of the New York Yankees. Among those who have worked in the past with Cressey is right-hander Corey Kluber, who landed a one-year, $11 million contract with the Yankees in January.
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported last month that Sanchez threw “for select teams at FIU. NY, PHI, MIA, TOR, DET, AZ. Nearly ready. Pitched at 90 hit 92. … That’s NYY as in Yankees.”
Sanchez is a 15-year MLB veteran whose best season came in 2013 with the Detroit Tigers. That year, he won a career-high 14 games and the led the American League with a career-low 2.57 ERA. He finished fourth in American League Cy Young Award voting that year, with teammate Max Scherzer taking top honors.
The 37-year-old Sanchez debuted with the Florida Marlins in 2006. The Marlins traded him to the Tigers before the non-waiver deadline in 2012. After the 2017 season he signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves. Sanchez spent the last two years with the Nationals. He struggled during the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season, posting a career-worst 6.62 ERA in 11 starts.
As for WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier, here’s how the teams are slotted:
Group A: U.S., Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua.
Group B: 8 Cuba, Venezuela, Canada, Colombia.
The team with the best Super Round record will be declared the winner and will be the fifth National Team to advance to the Tokyo Olympics, joining Japan, Korea, Mexico and Israel.
The second- and the third-place teams will qualify for the WBSC Baseball Final Qualifier, which includes Chinese Taipei, Australia, Netherlands and China.
The WBSC Baseball Final Qualifier is scheduled for June 16-20. The winner will receive the sixth and final berth to the Tokyo Olympics.
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Mike Rosenstein may be reached at mrosenstein@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
