DETROIT — Anibal Sanchez was 21 when the Red Sox promoted him to Double A Portland in 2005. He joined what proved to be a special group of players, sharing Hadlock Field with Jon Lester, Dustin Pedroia, Jonathan Papelbon, and Hanley Ramirez.

A slightly built righthander from Venezuela, Sanchez had a 3.45 earned run average in 11 starts for the Sea Dogs, pitching so well that scouts from other teams took notice.