Former Blue Jays All-Star Signs with Royals After 3 Years Out Of MLB

It was a long time ago—10 years, actually—that former Toronto Blue Jays' right hander Aaron Sanchez was an All-Star. And 3+ years since he's even appeared in the majors at all. But at the age of 33, Sanchez still wants another shot at the big leagues. To that end, he's signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals for 2026.

Aaron Sanchez is signing a minor-league deal with the Royals, per @ByRobertMurray

He hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2022 pic.twitter.com/sOWBnatUuG
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) January 27, 2026

Sanchez will be invited to the big league camp at Royals spring training as a non-roster invitee. According to insider Robert Murray, he'll earn $1.35 million in the majors. He also has release clauses on April 15 and May 15.

Sanchez last pitched in the majors in 2022, splitting time between the Washington Nationals and Minnesota Twins. But it wasn't pretty, as he posted a 6.60 ERA in 60 innings with a 1.55 WHIP.

But after sitting out 2025 entirely, he began his comeback attempt in the Dominican Winter League where he was utterly dominant.

Aaron Sanchez won the Dominican Winer League Cy Young Award.

In 46 1/3 innings, he posted a 1.55 ERA with 34 strikeouts and 9 walks.

Hasn’t pitched in MLB since 2022. #Royals pic.twitter.com/HghdAh2N1Z
— Jack Johnson (@JohnyJ_15) January 27, 2026

In 46 1/3 innings, he posted a 1.55 ERA with a 34:9 strikeout-to-walk ratio. That won him the league's Pitcher of the Year award.

He'll now try to ride that performance back to the big leagues.

His best season in the majors came in 2016 with the Blue Jays when he went 15-2 with an AL-leading 3.00 ERA in 30 starts. He was named an All-Star and finished seventh in AL Cy Young voting.