Jesus Sanchez is headed to Toronto to help offset the loss of Anthony Santander.
In the wake of losing slugging outfielder Anthony Santander to a near season-long injury, the Toronto Blue Jays swung an interesting trade on Friday morning with the Houston Astros.
According to Ben Nicholson-Smith, the Jays have acquired outfielder Jesus Sanchez from the Houston Astros for Joey Loperfido.
Here's what you need to know.
About Sanchez
Now 28 years old, Sanchez is a six-year veteran of the Miami Marlins and Astros. He's a career .239 hitter with 73 homers and 238 RBIs. He has five seasons of double-digit home runs under his belt, including a career-high 18 in 2024.
He was traded from Miami to Houston at the trade deadline last season, hitting just .199 with four homers for the Astros. He has a 26.1 percent strikeout rate for his career, though it's improved steadily each year. He only fanned 22.1 percent of the time in 2025.
He's likely a platoon player as he hit only .159 against lefties last season in only 69 at-bats.
Sanchez is under contract for the next two seasons.
About Loperfido
Originally acquired from the Astros at the 2024 trade deadline, Loperfido is a .248 career hitter in limited big-league action. Still just 26 years old, he hit .333 in 96 at-bats a season ago. A solid defender, he should get a chance to play more regularly in Houston.
How this changes things for Toronto
The Blue Jays are blessed with lots of flexibility and versatility, but it seems like this could be the set up against right-handed pitchers:
C: Alejandro Kirk
1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
2B: Ernie Clement
SS: Andres Gimenez
3B: Kazuma Okamoto
RF: Addison Barger
CF: Daulton Varsho
LF: Jesus Sanchez
DH: George Springer
When a left-handed pitcher is on the mound, the Jays can go with Davis Schneider in the lineup over Sanchez, and they can look for a platoon partner for Barger too if they want. Perhaps Myles Straw can fit into that role.
The future is now up in the air for Nathan Lukes, who was a major part of the 2025 team and played in 17 of 18 playoff games.
Why the Sanchez deal is worth it
The Blue Jays have a solid contact-oriented group with Guerrero, Clement, Gimenez and Okamoto. What they lost in Santander was power, so they've tried to replace some of that with Sanchez. Toronto has one of the most balanced lineups in the league and they will enter the 2026 campaign as one of the limited favorites to win the American League pennant after doing so in 2025.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Remember to join our BLUE JAYS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Blue Jays fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!