Drew Hutchison returned to the Toronto Blue Jays lineup Thursday and pitched an effective six innings, allowing three earned runs in a comeback 5-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers. The 25-year-old right-hander wasn’t rewarded for the effort on his record, but his performance raises the question of what to do next with the Jays’ most volatile arm.

Hutchison made the most of his opportunity after replacing the injured all-star Marco Estrada (back). It was only his second start of the season and third appearance overall. With the timeline on Estrada’s return up in the air, there should be more opportunities in the near future.

But where does Hutchison fit once Estrada returns? Can he play his way into a starting spot for the remainder of the season in the small window he has? Is his best hope for the Blue Jays to limit Aaron Sanchez’s innings by moving him to the bullpen, as originally planned before the season began?

Hutchison has the ability to force his way into the rotation if he performs beyond expectations, but the Jays do have plenty of decisions to make with Sanchez, who is 9-1 with a 2.94 ERA in 113.1 innings.

Sanchez pitched his arm off during spring training to earn a spot in the five-man rotation. He threw 20 innings with a 1.35 ERA in Dunedin to grab the final spot over veteran Gavin Floyd, an off-season signing by the Jays.

Upon being named to the rotation, manager John Gibbons made it clear that Sanchez would likely find his way to the bullpen later in the year as a way to manage his workload. It was an innings limit without an exact number.

In his third year in the majors, the 24-year-old righty has already crushed his career-high workload in 2016. He threw 33 innings in 24 games coming out of the bullpen in 2014, and he accumulated 92.1 in 41 appearances with 11 starts last season.

Of his 113.1 innings in 2016, 69.2 of them have come away from the Rogers Centre, where he has been stellar with a 6-0 record and 2.20 ERA in 10 starts. He’s 3-1 with a 4.12 ERA in 43.2 innings at home.

“I was there in the minor leagues when he’d struggle,” Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman said Thursday, as quoted by The Toronto Star. “To see him here now is awesome, for me, not only for me, but for our entire team. He’s one of the best starters in our division and in all of baseball.”
 

Sanchez in 2016

 
GP GS IP W L ERA ER WHIP SO
17 17 113.1 9 1 2.94 37 1.18 99
 

While Sanchez has proven himself as a worthy starter, his presence in the bullpen would strengthen what has been a shaky unit this season. 

Blue Jays relievers have struggled all year to the tune of a 4.17 ERA. The Jays have used 19 different players out of the bullpen, including infielders Ryan Goins and Darwin Barney.

Roberto Osuna has been the bright spot with 18 saves in 39 appearances - two off his career high of 20 set in his rookie season last year – and newcomer Jason Grilli, acquired from the Atlanta Braves at the end of May, has also carried his share of the load with two wins and one save in 14 appearances. Both players have strikeout per nine innings averages above 10.

Sanchez showed his penchant for middle relief last season with 10 holds in 30 games. As a frequent choice for the seventh inning, Sanchez had a WHIP of 0.87 and an ERA of 2.39.

Drew Storen leads the 2016 bullpen with eight holds, followed closely by Jesse Chavez (six) and Floyd (six).
 

A closer look at Blue Jays' most used relievers

 
Name GP W L SV HLD IP ER SO WHIP ERA
Roberto Osuna 39 2 1 18 0 39.2 10 48 0.96 2.27
Drew Storen 35 1 3 3 8 31.0 20 30 1.55 5.81
Jesse Chavez 31 0 2 0 6 32.1 13 34 1.24 3.62
Joe Biagini 30 3 2 1 2 32.0 11 28 1.50 3.09
Gavin Floyd 28 2 4 0 6 31.0 14 30 1.00 4.06
Brett Cecil 20 0 5 0 5 13.2 8 12 1.68 5.27
Jason Grilli 14 2 0 1 4 12.2 3 22 1.18 2.13
Chad Girodo 14 0 0 0 0 10.1 5 5 1.26 4.35
 

The Blue Jays would not be wrong to move Sanchez to the bullpen, but a decision would come a lot easier if Hutchison could regain his starting form from years past.

Hutchison has been a mainstay in the rotation for the last two seasons, appearing in 62 games with 60 starts. Despite a consistently high ERA (4.60 in 2013, 4.48 in 2014, 5.57 in 2015 and 4.97 in 2016) Hutchison has a winning record in four major-league seasons (30-21) and had a career-high 13 wins last season.

The secret to his success has been run support. 

The Jays have scored five or more runs in each of his three appearances this season, with his lone win coming in a 6-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics on April 24. 

Ten of his 13 wins last season came in games where the Jays put up six or more runs. The team scored less than six in each of his five losses. 

“He’s 10-2,” Gibbons said, as quoted by the Toronto Sun, in August of last year at a time when Hutchison was averaging eight runs of support per outing. “He’s not 2-10. He brings out the best in the team doesn’t he?”

If Gibbons was right, and if the statement remains true today, than Hutchison’s presence is about more than just pitching.

And if Hutchison can pitch like he did Thursday night, combined with the return of the run support and a well-rested Sanchez coming out of the bullpen, the decision might not be as difficult as it seems