Cristopher Sánchez

Cristopher Alexis Sánchez

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 165 lb.

• Debut June 6, 2021

• Born December 12, 1996 in La Romana, La Romana D.R.

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Biographical Information

Cristopher Sánchez pitched for the Dominican national team before reaching the major leagues in 2021.

He was signed by Tampa Bay Rays scout Daniel Santana in 2013. He was 1-3 with a 7.77 ERA and 2.36 WHIP for the 2014 DSL Rays but improved to 2-1, 3.54 and two saves in a return engagement for them the next year. In 2016, he went 5-3 with a save and a 3.06 ERA for the DSL Rays 1, his WHIP now down to 1.12; he did not allow a homer in any of those three seasons.

Coming stateside in 2017, he was hit hard for the Princeton Rays (1-6, 10.01 ERA, .353 opponent average). He tied for 3rd in the Appalachian League in losses. He was 1-0 with a 1.76 ERA for the Perth Heat in the 2017-2018 Australian Baseball League. He split 2018 between Princeton (3-2, 4.60 in 10 G) and the Hudson Valley Renegades (1-0, 5.00 in 2 G). The tall lefty showed good strides in 2019 with the Bowling Green Hot Rods (3-1, 2 Sv, 2.01 in 11 G), Charlotte Stone Crabs (1-0, 1.85 in 12 G) and Durham Bulls (3 R in 1 1/3 IP), with a 2.26 ERA on the summer. After that season, on November 20th, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in return for 2B Curtis Mead.

He then was on the Dominican squad for the 2019 Premier 12. In his only game, he faced Team USA with a spot in the second round at stake. Relieving Bryan Valdez in the 3rd with a 4-2 deficit, he walked Bobby Dalbec, fanned Andrew Vaughn and walked Jake Cronenworth. Alec Bohm then tagged him for a three-run bomb to make it 7-2. He recovered to get Erik Kratz and Xavier Edwards, the latter by K. In the 4th, he retired Mark Payton and fanned Jo Adell but made an error to let Daulton Varsho reach and Dalbec singled in Varsho. He recovered to get Vaughn swinging. After the Dominicans closed it to 8-3, he was replaced by Carlos Pimentel.

He went to spring training with the Phillies in 2020 and after the minor league season was cancelled by the Coronavirus pandemic, was assigned to the their alternate training site. In 2021, he started the season with the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs before being called up to Philly in early June and making his debut on June 6th, pitching an inning and a third in relief against the Washington Nationals. He relieved Sam Coonrod in the 8th with a 12-6 lead and retired Jordy Mercer and Victor Robles before Josh Harrison singled, but he then whiffed Trea Turner. He also struck out Juan Soto to open the 9th before Hector Neris replaced him. He went 1-0, 4.97 in 7 games including 1 start in his first taste of the majors. He pitched another 15 games in 2022, with 3 starts, going 2-2, 5.63. The Phillies made it into the postseason and reached the World Series, but he was not part of the postseason roster. In the minors, he was 5-6, 4.68 in 19 games in AAA in 2021, and 2-2, 3.14 in 15 games in 2022. He was almost exclusively a starter when pitching for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

In 2023, he spent the majority of a season in the majors for the first time, with 10 games for Lehigh Valley (he was 3-2, 4.35) and 19 with Philly. He pitched well in the majors, going 3-5, 3.44, with 18 starts and 96 strikeouts in 99 1/3 innings. He was not used in the first two rounds of the postseason but got to make his debut in the NLCS against the Arizona Diamondbacks when he started Game 4 on October 20th and gave up 2 runs (1 earned) in 2 1/3 innings but was not involved in the decision in 6-5 loss. He started 2024 in the Phillies' starting rotation and pitching well. On June 22nd, the Phillies announced that they had signed him to a four-year extension with two additional option years, a sign that the team was pleased with his performance. Indeed, he was named the National League Pitcher of the Month for June after posting an ERA of 1.64 and recording a three-hit shutout over the Miami Marlins, the first of his career, on June 28th. He was named to the 2024 All-Star Game as a replacement for P Chris Sale, who was unavailable under the Sunday Starter Rule; that made him the eighth Phillies player named to the squad.

Notable Achievements

• NL All-Star (2024)
• NL Complete Games Leader (2024)
• NL Shutouts Leader (2024)

Further Reading

• Paul Casella: "Phillies, Sánchez agree to 4-year deal with club options for 2029, '30", mlb.com, June 22, 2024. [1]
• Paul Casella: "'I screamed': Phils elated for Sánchez after 1st career shutout", mlb.com, June 28, 2024. [2]
• Dan Gelson (The Associated Press): "Phillies All-Star Cristopher Sánchez welcomes a baby boy ahead of his Game 2 NLDS start", Yahoo! Sports, October 5, 2024. [3]
• Tim McManus: "Sánchez added to NL roster, giving Phillies 8 (!) All-Stars", mlb.com, July 13, 2024. [4]

Related Sites

• Cristopher Sánchez on mlb.com
• BR Register page