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Blue Jays Cut Ties with Middling Outfielder Amid Playoff Push
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- Blue Jays Cut Ties with Middling Outfielder Amid Playoff Push
The Toronto Blue Jays made the surprise decision to part ways with one of their offseason acquisitions on Friday.
Ahead of their series opener against the Baltimore Orioles , the Blue Jays announced they had designated outfielder Jesús Sánchez for assignment. This was going to be the corresponding move to a previously reported call up: Toronto planned to select outfielder Rudy Martin Jr., a 12-year minor league veteran, to the major league roster.
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Sánchez, 28, will finish his Blue Jays tenure with a .260/.318/.416 slash line, eight home runs, 35 RBI, a 105 wRC+ and -0.2 fWAR .
Toronto acquired Sánchez from the Houston Astros during the offseason for fellow lefty-swinging outfielder Joey Loperfido . Although he started the season fairly well (.274/.316/.437 with seven homers in first 73 games ), Sánchez spent a month on the injured list with a right ankle sprain and struggled immensely upon returning, hitting just .204 with a .656 OPS in his last 26 games with the Blue Jays.
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The seven-year veteran was almost exclusively used against right-handed pitchers, with 267 of his 299 plate appearances came against righties. In the other 32 plate appearances against southpaws, Sánchez had just four hits (.133), a walk and a hit-by-pitch while striking out six times.
Far more concerning, though, was Sánchez's atrocious defense in the outfield. Over 559.0 innings on defense, he totaled -10 Defensive Runs Saved, -8 Outs Above Average and -9 Fielding Runs, the last of which ranked in the 4th percentile on Baseball Savant . The defensive woes were the primary reason behind Sánchez's negative WAR total, and with the Blue Jays back in the playoff race, they can't afford net negative play from anyone.
Getting rid of Sánchez freed up a roster spot for Martin, who has spent 12 years in the minor leagues and is still waiting to make his MLB debut. The 30-year-old outfielder is hitting .253/.351/.379 with five extra-base hits in 27 games with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, but what likely makes Martin attractive to the Blue Jays is his baserunning. He's swiped 12 bases in 13 attempts since joining Triple-A Buffalo, and has 45 stolen bases in 53 total attempts this season for a 84.9% success rate.
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It's unlikely that Martin is a needle-mover for Toronto, but his speed can come in handy while it's hard to imagine that his fielding could be any worse than Sánchez's.
Entering Friday's action, the Blue Jays are just one game out of the final Wild Card spot in the American League. They will look to make one last push for the postseason over the next two weeks, and perhaps Martin can make his long-awaited MLB debut in those final 15 games.
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This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Sep 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the MLB section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
