The Toronto Blue Jays made a bit of a surprising trade for this slugger from the Houston Astros.
The Toronto Blue Jays kicked off spring training with a flurry of devastating injuries, with right-handed pitcher Shane Bieber starting the year on the injured list, right-hander Bowden Francis missing the season with Tommy John surgery, and outfielder/DH Anthony Santander being out for five to six months due to labrum surgery. That left a major hole in the Blue Jays’ outfield that they didn’t waste much time trying to fill. ESPN reported Friday that Toronto is acquiring outfielder Jesus Sanchez from the Houston Astros in exchange for outfielder Joey Loperfido.
Sanchez was traded to the Astros from the Miami Marlins last season. He slashed .237/.304/.395 with 14 homers and 48 RBIs in 134 games between Houston and Miami. The lefty has a career 73 homers in 580 games through six years in the majors. However, his splits were better with the Marlins, with Sanchez hitting just .199 with four home runs for the Astros 48 games played. He could look to be a platoon player in Toronto as he only hit .159 in 69 at-bats last season against lefties.
Here is the full story from Blue Jays Roundtable writer Brady Farkas on the semi-surprising trade and how Sanchez fits into Toronto’s plans and lineup.
Sanchez is under contract for the next two seasons, and Farkas outlines how those two years could look with a left-handed pitcher on the mound should Sanchez be a platoon player for them. He adds power that is lost in Santander’s injury as a slugger in a more balanced, contact-oriented lineup of hitters that will look to win the American League in back-to-back years and hopefully run it back to the World Series in their 2026 campaign.