The Toronto Blue Jays likely thought they could get away with designating Jesus Sanchez for assignment and passing him through waivers unscathed.
The Arizona Diamondbacks foiled that, though, claiming Sanchez and taking him away from the Toronto organization for good.
Sure, Sanchez had left a lot to be desired in his first season with the Blue Jays, particularly in the outfield defense department.
But the smooth lefty swinger has another year of club control, and Toronto may have still envisioned him being around for that.
The DFA always came with risk, but there was one reason it seemed to make sense based on the calendar.
Why Blue Jays Thought They Could Keep Jesus Sanchez
This all has to do with a Sept. 1 cutoff on the MLB calendar, and the fact that Sanchez was claimed by Arizona on Sept. 14.
A player has to be on a given team’s 40-man roster (or the 60-day injured list) by Sept. 1 to be eligible for the postseason.
In this case, Sanchez was on Toronto’s 40-man roster on that date, so he could’ve played in the playoffs for the Blue Jays. He was not on Arizona’s, though, and so he can’t play in the playoffs for Arizona.
While Toronto also could’ve had Sanchez claimed by a team not even in the playoff race, the Blue Jays probably didn’t think Sanchez would be claimed by a postseason contender.
Sanchez can play at most a dozen games for Arizona this season. Then he can only watch if they do indeed chase down a playoff spot.
Jesús Sánchez will become a free agent after 2027, giving the #Dbacks an extra year of control.
He will be ineligible for the postseason, but this will not result in another DFA (or rather a forced one).
Really good claim by Arizona! pic.twitter.com/HLUYpmQkhy
— Diamondbacks Prospects 🐍 (@dbacksprospectz) September 14, 2026
Arizona did need a good lefty bat at the moment, but they also must simply like the idea of a whole year of Sanchez to see what he can do and decide if he belongs even longer term.
Jesus Sanchez Stats With Blue Jays
Sanchez was worth negative-1.0 Wins Above Replacement, which really sums up how bad his defense was because he was a solid enough hitter.
In 99 games with the Blue Jays, Sanchez had 18 doubles and eight home runs while hitting .260 with a .734 OPS.
Toronto acquired him before the season for Joey Loperfido in a trade with the Astros, and neither player is now part of those respective teams’ MLB rosters (with Loperfido down in Houston’s minor league system).
The reality is that Toronto felt designating Sanchez for assignment was the way to go in the grand scheme of their roster construction.
It just has a small chance to backfire if Sanchez finds a way to break out next season in Arizona.
Blue Jays Losing Jesus Sanchez a Surprise Because of Postseason Eligibility