Giants right-hander Aaron Sanchez had hoped to make his spring debut during Sunday's 6-3 win over the D-backs at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, but he instead found himself pitching on the backfields at Scottsdale Stadium.

With a three-inning simulated game officially under his belt, Sanchez feels he’s ready to take the next step and test himself in Cactus League action.

“I've had a really weird time,” Sanchez said during a Zoom call with reporters. “When I first got here, I was waiting on some tests, so I wasn't really around. I wouldn't say that I'm behind. By no means am I behind, but people had already gotten into games. They wanted to see some guys in the game. Then they put me on the backfield. I'm just going off schedule. I thought today I was supposed to be in a game, so I'm over guessing on when I'm going to be in games. I’ll just let them handle what they're going to do and put me in and just be ready to go.”

Sanchez, who joined the Giants on a one-year, $4 million deal on Feb. 21, reportedly breezed through his first two innings before giving up a pair of hits and a walk in the third. The 28-year-old said he had to adjust to pitching out of the stretch for the first time in a while, though he was pleased with the outing overall.

“I felt great,” said Sanchez, who sat around 92-94 mph. “Stuff came out of my hand good. I made some adjustments on the offspeed pitches that I needed to make. If I'm pitching in the game in five days, I'm very confident and comfortable, for sure.”

Manager Gabe Kapler said the Giants decided to have Sanchez pitch in a simulated game on Sunday to “build confidence” and increase his intensity in a controlled environment. He expects Sanchez to make his next start in a Cactus League game this week. 

“I thought he threw the ball great,” Kapler said. “Really encouraging outing. The ball was coming out good. He was getting swings-and-misses and landing his breaking ball. Threw some nice changeups. Overall, high-quality outing.” 

Sanchez, a one-time All-Star who led the American League with a 3.00 ERA in 2016, is the only member of the Giants’ projected starting rotation who has yet to appear in an exhibition game this spring. He is attempting to return to the Majors for the first time since 2019, after missing the 2020 campaign while rehabbing from right shoulder surgery and said he has no concerns about his readiness for Opening Day. 

“As far as I'm concerned, I've been ready to go for a while,” Sanchez said.

Moronta optimistic velocity will improve

Eighteen months after Reyes Moronta collapsed on the field after suffering a horrific shoulder injury at Oracle Park, the 28-year-old reliever returned to the mound and tossed a scoreless inning against the Indians in his Cactus League debut on Saturday. Moronta retired all three batters he faced and recorded a strikeout, but his fastball sat around 92 mph, down from the 97.2 mph he averaged in 2019 before undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder.

“I felt good, even though my velocity wasn’t where I’m used to seeing it,” Moronta said in Spanish on Sunday. “But I’m coming off shoulder surgery, and I hadn’t pitched in 18 months. I felt good, even though I was nervous. Little by little, the velocity will return.

“I have faith and hope that I’ll be back throwing 98 [mph]. Right now, I’m just focused on pitching and maintaining my health. I’m not too concerned about my velocity, because I know that it’s still there. Yesterday I was just focused on throwing strikes.”

Before the injury, Moronta established himself as one of the Giants’ best back-end arms, logging a 2.66 ERA over his first three Major League seasons. He’ll have a smaller margin for error without his premium velocity, but he did show the ability to locate his secondary weapons, his slider and changeup, for strikes on Saturday.

If Moronta proves he can still be effective this spring, he should be a member of the Giants’ Opening Day bullpen, but he also has options and could be left off the roster if the club feels he still has work to do to return to his pre-surgery form. Besides the diminished velocity, there are also some concerns about Moronta’s conditioning, though he said he’s shed nine pounds since reporting to Spring Training and is down to 256 pounds.

Worth noting

• After struggling with his command in his last start against the Padres on March 5, left-hander Conner Menez enjoyed a nice bounce-back outing Sunday, striking out three over 2 2/3 scoreless innings and reaching 94 mph with his fastball. Menez, 25, retired the first seven batters he faced before allowing a one-out walk to Pavin Smith and a single to Domingo Leyba in the third.

Menez, 25, said he’s seen an uptick in velocity after cleaning up his mechanics over the offseason and has also been tweaking his pitch usage to become less reliant on his fastball this year.

“I used to be a big fastball-dominant guy, and now I’m throwing more like 50 percent offspeed, 50 percent fastball,” Menez said. “It’s really kind of helped me out. It’s kind of made me switch gears. When I throw more offspeed, it helps me kind of locate my fastball a little bit more. … I’m really liking where things are going.”

Menez will likely open the season at the alternate training site, but he was also effective working out of the bullpen for the Giants in 2020, when he posted a 2.38 ERA over seven relief appearances.

• Outfielder Mike Yastrzemski collected his first home run of the spring on Sunday, crushing a 89 mph sinker from D-backs left-hander Alex Young out to right field for a towering, two-run shot in the fifth inning.

• Left-hander Jake McGee, who is viewed as the front-runner to serve as the Giants’ closer this year, struck out three in a scoreless fifth and has not given up a run over his first four Cactus League appearances. Bullpen hopefuls Silvino Bracho and Sam Selman also impressed by throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings apiece. Relief prospect Camilo Doval closed out the game by striking out two over a 1-2-3 ninth, touching 97.6 mph with his fastball.

Up next

The Giants will head to Surprise Stadium to face the Royals on Monday at 1:05 p.m. PT. Non-roster invitee Anthony Banda will start for the Giants and oppose fellow left-hander Danny Duffy.