The Toronto Blue Jays made a move to bolster their lineup after the injury news to Anthony Santander.
The Blue Jays announced on social media on Friday morning that the team has acquired outfielder Jesus Sanchez from the Houston Astros for Joey Loperfido. Toronto had acquired Loperfido from the Astros back in 2024.
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Sanchez is a more proven commodity in the MLB, but he only has two years left of control, while Loperfido is under team control through 2030.
Sanchez, meanwhile, has ‘elite bat speed’ according to Blue Jays insider Ben Nicholson-Smith.
“Sánchez, 28, has elite bat speed from the left side. He’s a career .253/.324/.450 hitter against RHP for a 111 wRC+. Would expect to see him against lots of RHP. Has typically been best used as a platoon bat who struggles vs. LHP. Two more years of team control remaining,” Nicholson-Smith wrote on X.
Sanchez hit .237 with 14 home runs and 48 RBIs last season between the Miami Marlins and Astros.
Loperfido, meanwhile, appeared in just 41 games for Toronto, hitting .333 with 4 home runs and 14 RBIs.
Santander Injury Leads to Blue Jays Trade
Toronto got some bad injury news as camp opened, as slugger Anthony Santander will miss 5-to-6 months after undergoing surgery for his labrum.
With Santander out for most, if not all of the season, Nicholson-Smith believes this trade happens because of that injury.
“By swapping Joey Loperfido for Jesús Sánchez, the Blue Jays lose some long-term upside in exchange for a player with a clear present-day role: mashing RHP. Probably not a trade the Blue Jays make with a healthy Santander, but this gives them a bit more offensive depth,” Nicholson-Smith added.
Meanwhile, fellow Blue Jays insider Mitch Bannon of The Athletic was critical of the deal, as he felt like Sanchez is very similar to Nathan Lukes.
“Sanchez is, clearly, a starting-calibre OF (vs RHP). It is a bit of a interesting move, though, as he’s kind of in the same range as Lukes and Loperfido (but without options, and making $),” Bannon wrote on X.
However, Sanchez does add some more pop to the lineup, which the Blue Jays could use, especially after the injury to Santander.
Toronto Had High Hopes for Santander
Santander missed most of last season due to an injury, and the hope was he’d be fully healthy in 2026.
However, Santander suffered a setback, which was disappointing, as the team had high hopes for him.
“Tony is going to be huge for us,” said Schneider. “Speaking to him at the end of the year and in the postseason, he battled to get back. … He wanted to be part of it so bad. He wanted to get off on the right foot. It didn’t happen. …
“He is motivated. He is hungry to get back to the player we know he is. He’s a big part of what we’re doing. Again, I don’t want him. I’ve told him this, ‘I don’t want you to think you have to do anything you don’t do well. You don’t have to come back and hit .300 with 50 homers to make up for last year.’ We need Tony to fit in the way we know he can when we signed him.”
Santander, however, will have a second-straight injury-plagued season, which is his first two seasons with the Blue Jays.
Blue Jays Deal Loperfido to AL Club for ‘Elite’ Hitter in Intriguing 1-for-1 Swap