Cristopher Sanchez Receives $50K Contract Bonus from Phillies After MLB All-Star Snub

Philadelphia Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez is 7-2 with a 2.59 ERA and 116 strikeouts over 18 starts, but that wasn't good enough to make the National League All-Star team.

However, the Phillies are still going to pay Sánchez a $50,000 bonus in his contract that would have triggered if he had been selected to play in the Midsummer Classic.

Sánchez was controversially left off the team for Milwaukee Brewers rookie starter Jacob Misiorowski, who was picked for the NL squad as a replacement despite only making five starts this year. That caught the ire of some Phillies, who backed the exploits of both Sánchez and Ranger Suárez (7-3, 1.94 ERA in 13 starts).

Sánchez has certainly pitched like an All-Star this year as the ace for the NL East-leading Phils. He's only allowed more than three earned runs in one of his 18 starts. In addition, Sánchez has allowed just one earned run in each of his last four appearances. Over his last seven games, Sánchez has a 1.69 ERA.

According to Gelb, there apparently was an issue with timing and usage. In essence, Sánchez is starting Sunday at the San Diego Padres, bringing into question whether he could pitch two days later in the All-Star Game.

Regardless of what happened behind the scenes, it's certainly a tough snub for Sánchez, but he's at least getting a well-deserved bonus. At any rate, he has more important matters at hand in the back half of the season as he hopes to help lead the Phillies to October and beyond.