CLEVELAND -- Aaron Sanchez said he is "absolutely not" considering shutting it down for the season after being placed on the disabled list for the fourth time because of a blister on his right middle finger.
Sanchez met with a hand specialist in Cleveland on Friday afternoon and was prescribed more rest. The doctor plans on taking a closer look at his files over the next couple of days and coming up with a defined treatment plan, but for now Sanchez just has to wait it out.
The 25-year-old is beyond frustrated at how his 2017 season has gone to date. He has been limited to eight starts, and whenever it seems like the blister is a thing of the past, it pops up again like it did during Wednesday night's game in Boston. No matter what he seems to do, it just won't go away.
"There's no real magic solution to this other than you have to let it heal," Sanchez said. "That's pretty much what it comes down to. ... It's just something we have to get past. I thought it was done previously -- when I pitched against Detroit, there were no issues, and then five days later something happened. We just have to ride this thing out, address it, fix it and just move on."
Sanchez is willing to try just about anything to solve the problem. He received the contact information for Dodgers left-hander Rich Hill earlier this week and texted him on Saturday morning. Sanchez wants to pick the brain of the veteran starter who frequently has dealt with blister issues throughout his career but seems to have gotten over it in 2017.
One possible long-term solution the doctor mentioned to Sanchez was doing something with the skin tissue on his right middle finger. Sanchez did not elaborate but suggested that was more of a last resort, and it's something that could be explored during the offseason if all of the other treatments fail to solve the problem. For now, the focus is getting back on the field and finding a way to put this issue in his rear-view mirror.
In the meantime, Sanchez will wrap his finger in a bandage and continue to play catch. He won't be cleared to resume throwing bullpen sessions until the blood in the blister has completely gone away and skin in the area begins to harden. There's been some skepticism about whether Sanchez will be able to pitch again this year, but he's adamant about coming back.
"I'm not going to let that happen, I'm going to overcome this one way or the other," Sanchez said when asked about possibly shutting it down. "I think when I talk to Rich Hill and do some of the things on how to maintain this, or what I can do in steps to prevent this down the road, it will hopefully give me an idea on how [we can make sure this won't] be an issue ever again."