When the Toronto Blue Jays announced this week that Anthony Santander would be out for most of the 2026 season, general manager Ross Atkins insisted they were fine with their roster as is, and would fill from within. So much for that plan.
The Jays have immediately gone out and acquired a Santander replacement, by sending young outfielder Joey Loperfido back to the Houston Astros in exchange for six-year veteran Jesús Sanchez.
Loperfido was part of the return in 2024 when the Jays sent Yusei Kikuchi to Houston.
Just moments after today’s deal, Atkins was referring to Sanchez as “one of our better options against right-handed pitching on a very regular basis… The power is as good as anybody in baseball.”
Now, let’s not get too carried away just yet.
New Blue Jay OF Jesus Sanchez has career .727 OPS
Sanchez is going into his seventh major league season. Last year in Houston, he batted .199 in 160 plate appearances. He’s hit more than 14 home runs in a season a grand total of one time (18 in 2024), and has a career .727 OPS.
Against right-handed pitching, you ask? That goes up to .774. Doesn’t exactly suggest power “as good as anybody in baseball.”
As a platoon bat last year with the Astros and Marlins, Sanchez hit 13 homers with a .739 OPS against righties, in 451 at-bats. His Baseball Savant page gives us mixed results as well. Yes, he was in the 93rd percentile in bat speed last year. But his xSLG (expected slugging) was in the 63rd percentile (.441), and his hard hit percentage was in the 50th percentile. His overall Batting Run Value (which quantifies how many runs a player creates compared to the average hitter) was in the 20th percentile, with a rating of ‘Poor.’
Ok… So maybe he’s not one of the better power options in baseball, as Atkins tried to spin it. But here’s the bright side: In his career, per every 500 at-bats against right-handers, Sanchez has averaged about 21 home runs, 71 RBIs, and that aforementioned .774 OPS. Good, yes. “As good as anybody in baseball”? Not really.
But hey, it is certainly an improvement on the five-to-six months of 0 homers, 0 RBIs and .000 OPS that they’ll get from Santander. He’ll be spending that time recovering from shoulder surgery. Heck, it’s also a lot better than the .179 average, six home runs, 18 RBIs and .565 OPS they got from their $92 million bust last season. The Jays handed Santander that five-year contract coming off his career year in Baltimore when he slugged 44 homers.
Kudos to the club for filling a void with a decent platoon option. But let’s not expect a 44-HR season from Sanchez.
