Phillies

“Left Forearm Soreness” for Cristopher Sanchez, Who Exited Mets Loss After 58 Pitches

By Luke Arcaini

Published: Apr 23rd, 2025 · 9:13 AM EDT

---

Cristopher Sanchez left Tuesday night’s game after just two innings and 58 pitches. Everybody knew something was wrong when Joe Ross ran out for the third.

Sanchez’s velocity was down, and his command was off. He didn’t look like the Sanchez we know. Rob Thomson went up to Sanchez following the 2nd inning and asked him if something was wrong. Rob Thomson said Sanchez would usually be vocal with him and say he’s fine, but last night, he just nodded. Thomson immediately pulled him.

Tests revealed “left forearm soreness” for Sanchez. Those original tests revealed no structural damage, but the team will run more tests over the next few days. Forearm tightness can have a direct impact on the UCL, which could result in Tommy John on some occasions. The Phillies will be careful with Sanchez for obvious reasons.

Sanchez said he “feels normal” through a translator following Tuesday night’s game, and Thomson said, as of right now, they don’t expect Sanchez to miss an excess amount of time, although they could shuffle the rotation to give Sanchez more time to recover.

The Phillies are close to getting Ranger Suarez back, but Thomson said after the game that Sanchez’s injury isn’t changing the plan for Suarez. He’s still set to throw one more start in Lehigh Valley, with a 90-pitch max. Suarez threw five scoreless innings Tuesday night for the Iron Pigs.

Health hasn’t been a worry for the Phillies rotation over the last two years. Everybody has stayed fairly healthy and out on the mound, other than Suarez’s injury last year. If it’s up to Cristopher Sanchez, he’d make his next scheduled start. But the Phillies can’t risk any of their starters right now, especially with the state of their bullpen.