The Blue Jays have acquired outfielder Jesús Sánchez from the Astros in exchange for fellow outfielder Joey Loperfido, per announcements from both clubs. Both players are on the 40-man roster, so no corresponding moves will need to be made.
Sánchez’s tenure in Houston will only wind up lasting half a season. Houston acquired the lefty-swinging slugger from Miami at last year’s deadline in a trade sending righty Ryan Gusto, minor league infielder Chase Jaworsky and minor league outfielder Esmil Valencia to the Marlins.
Sánchez came to the Astros with a track record of hitting right-handed pitching but struggled against right-handed and left-handed opponents alike in his new environs. He slashed just .199/.269/.342 (71 wRC+) in 160 plate appearances as an Astro — a far cry from the .253/.319/.428 line he’d posted in nearly 1300 plate appearances with the Fish dating back to Opening Day 2023.
The Astros could have non-tendered Sánchez on the heels of those struggles but chose to keep him around despite a projected arbitration salary of some note. The two parties agreed to a $6.8MM deal for the 2026 season. Toronto will take on the entirety of that sum in this swap and, as a second-time luxury payor in the top penalty tier, pay a 90% tax on top of what they will pay Sanchez.
It’s a heavy price to buy low on a player, but Sánchez touts a career .253/.324/.450 batting line against right-handed pitching and has plenty of encouraging underlying metrics. He’s averaged a hearty 91.1 mph off the bat in his career and logged a robust 45.7% hard-hit rate. Last year’s 75.9 mph bat speed ranked in the 93rd percentile of MLB hitters.
Sánchez is limited to the outfield corners on the defensive side of things but offers solid range and a plus arm. In 2777 career innings in right field, he’s been credited with 11 Defensive Runs Saved. Statcast rates him five Outs Above Average in that time. He hasn’t played as much left field but has above-average marks there from both DRS and OAA.
The Jays don’t have an immediate path to regular at-bats for Sánchez, who’s out of minor league options. He’ll presumably occupy a part-time role, mixing into the outfield corners alongside fellow lefty swingers Nathan Lukes and Addison Barger, who figure to patrol the corners alongside center fielder Daulton Varsho. Sánchez gives the Jays a viable option in either outfield corner and can obviously log some time at designated hitter if George Springer needs a breather. He’s a nice bat to have in a limited role, and if he hits well enough to merit a raise in arbitration, he can be controlled through the 2027 season.
The addition of Sánchez adds some power to a lineup that will again be without last winter’s major offseason signing, Anthony Santander, for an extended period of time. Santander missed significant time in 2025 and hit poorly when on the field due to ongoing shoulder troubles. He recently underwent surgery on that balky shoulder and will be sidelined for five-plus months.
Toronto had obviously been hoping that an offseason of rest could get Santander back to the form he showed in Baltimore from 2022-24, when he slashed .244/.317/.478 with 105 home runs (including 44 in 2024). Instead, it’ll be another largely lost season for the switch-hitting slugger. Sánchez doesn’t have the same offensive ceiling due to his long-running platoon struggles, but he adds some power to help the Jays compensate for that loss.
Loperfido, 26, returns to the organization that originally drafted him with this trade. Houston sent him to Toronto alongside righty Jake Bloss and infielder Will Wagner in exchange for left-hander Yusei Kikuchi at the 2024 trade deadline. He wasn’t likely to break camp with the Jays and may not do so in Houston, either. He’s entering his final minor league option season and has five years of club control remaining.
While Loperfido slashed .333/.379/.500 in 104 plate appearances for Toronto last season, there was a fair bit of smoke and mirrors involved in that batting line. His offensive output was propped up by a huge .431 average on balls in play that won’t be sustainable over a larger sample, and Loperfido logged a somewhat concerning 26% strikeout rate against just a 3.8% walk rate. His batted-ball metrics (87.3 mph average exit velocity, 37.1% hard-hit rate) were well below average. Loperfido spent the bulk of the 2025 season in Triple-A and was roughly a league-average hitter there, slashing .264/.341/.401 with a 21.4% strikeout rate and a below-average 7.8% walk rate.
Loperfido will have a chance to break camp with the ‘Stros but will need to earn his spot with a big spring performance. Houston has Jake Meyers locked into center field but minimal certainty otherwise. Rookie Zach Cole hit well in a 15-game cup of coffee last year, but he also struck out in 38% of his plate appearances after fanning at a 35% clip in the minors. His hit tool is a major red flag. Cam Smith was the talk of spring training last year, and the former top prospect had a hot start to his big league career before fading as the season went on.
Houston has been on the lookout for left-handed bats throughout the offseason and has continued its search in camp. Loperfido gives them a lefty hitter but does so at the cost of the left-handed Sánchez, so there’s no net gain. However, the most important aspect of this morning’s trade for the Astros could simply be shedding Sánchez’s $6.8MM salary from the books. General manager Dana Brown said in announcing the trade that he’s “not done” making moves (via Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle).
Astros owner Jim Crane is reluctant to cross the luxury tax threshold for what’d be a second straight season, and prior to moving Sánchez, Houston was within $5MM or so of the $244MM tax line. Brown and his staff in the front office now have some extra breathing room as they look to make further additions to the roster. Houston’s infield logjam has been well-documented this winter, and corner infielder Isaac Paredes‘ name, in particular, has surfaced in frequent trade speculation. With some extra financial breathing room, the Astros have more leeway to make other additions without necessarily needing to move Paredes or find a taker for pricey first baseman Christian Walker (owed $40MM over the next two seasons) on the heels of a down year.
Jays ready to rumble
Sad part of the equation is how a relatively large market club has to pinch pennies. I think even with the Twins paying a portion, Getting Correa back will limit future moves as well. Hopefully, he stays healthy and productive (by his standards). I just see an older, declining player who will be on the IL by June.
Yeah, pinching pennies because of the luxury tax. It’ll be even worse with a salary cap
The problem is that the first CBT threshold is way too low. A hard cap if they ever have one should be much closer to the highest CBT line.
Yeah like a 250 million and 150 million line is insane.
Rumblr or crumble..
I’ve not seen a single Astros fans distressed at the loss of Jesús Sánchez. Uniform joy.
Good luck finding one.
If it doesn’t work out then the Jays will replace him at the trade deadline. Could be a really good value pickup even for salary dump in HTown
I love Loperfido! Lez go! Lez go!
Duke legend!! Going to their opener today!! Go Duke!
Why the Blue jays do this trade? The Astros swindled them.
Speed and defense from Sanchez whereas Loperfido is a lf with limited power and defense
Sanchez is brutal in LF and marginal in RF. Loperfido is a significantly better defender and can play all 3 OF spots.
The Blue Jays might just want to score and score quickly to win when they face RHP, then subsitute Lukes and Straw for defense to hold the fort.
Are you looking at Loperfido’s MLB stats in 100 PA’s? Because his AAA work last year was much less impressive. He won’t maintain a .431 BABIP.
Presumably the Jays want a RF option and Sanchez’s arm works there. Loperfido is not. Sanchez has elite bat speed but no one has been able to fully unlock that potential.
Don’t know if Sanchez ever takes a step. But I don’t think they’ll regret giving up Loperfido.
Also very high K rate. He’s a good utility guy with the bat and glove but likely won’t hold a spot full time.
Umm Barger already plays RF…with a cannon arm.
I doubt Barger plays RF on a full time basis. He’ll likely grab starts at 3B as well.
Baltimore_44 – Barger was 1st in MLB in assists as a RF last year. His arm strength is in the 99th percentile. I’m sure he will see some RF this year.
125 starts in right. 25 at 3rd. Primary RF.
They’re not doing this for his fielding position, he’ll more than likely play Left Field when against a RHP. This is a hopeful platoon power bat move.
Wouldn’t surprise me if the Jays did this trade to try and waive Sanchez and his bigger salary to AAA. Probably couldn’t sneak Loperfido thru because he is cheap and has an option.
If you have options you don’t need to sneak through to AAA. You just get sent down, which is most likely what Houston will do with Loperfido. Jays targeting more potential power here on the heels of the loss of Santander.
Pardon?
What are you talking about?
Santander replacement.
Did someone tell them that just because they overpaid for Santander the didn’t need to do the same for his replacement
Well, it’s an improvement in that they didn’t make nearly as much of an overpay as they did for Santander. You could put a scarecrow in RF and get almost the same defense as Santander.
$14M seems steep for a short side platoon corner outfielder. Kind of odd from both sides.
The team looking for a left handed corner outfielder trades the only one they have.
At least this will quell any Castellanos to Blue Jays talk…
However this will stir up a ton of Castellanos to the Astros chatter! That team seems to like old guys and pinching pennies so let’s go!
We don’t need Castellanos. Not one bit of him.
Hehehe come on someone has to take him right!?
Do they?
No… No they really don’t. But it would be entertaining to see that plane crash.
Long side platoon corner outfielder. He bats left and it’s lefties who he can’t hit at all. The problem is, EVERY outfielder on the Blue Jays is left handed (Varsho, Barger, now Sanchez) except for Davis Schnider who will need to play some second base. Or Straw if he makes the roster but that’d be a lot of outfielders and Straw can’t hit anybody.
Oh sorry duh. They just really don’t want Barger in right? He hit the leather off the ball in the Series.
Maybe the plan involves a possibility of Barger playing more third base and Okamoto learning second base? Or it’s just insurance in case Barger, Okamoto or Lukes has a bad/hurt year. Or even yet another Varsho injury that pushes Lukes to CF. Sanchez makes nice depth if you can afford the hefty price tag, as someone who’s proved he can play regularly and hit above average against righties.
The Jay’s are obligated to GO FOR IT, after last year. And then there is the bad news with Santa, and
Yeah it’s a lot of money but, ya know, taxes
I don’t like this trade as well it was a bad move on the part of Toronto now all we have left of the trade of Kikuchi is Jake Bloss and he is recovering from TJS and Will Wagner has been DFA’ed and to think at one time Toronto almost had 4 sons of HOF father’s ( Biggio , Bichette , Wagner and Guerrero Jr ) so i hope Toronto doesn’t make a second mistake by going after Castellanos
Will Wagner is on the Padres.
They traded Wagner for Valenzuela
Huh?
The club has worked its way into Luxury Tax territory with bad signings and now has to replace their bad signings with stiffs like this. Their outfield mess traces back to signing Santander last offseason. I chuckled when they did it and now it seems cruel to watch.
Power for the most part as Sánchez will help recover some of what was lost with the Santander injury.
Take a look at their comps – i think the Jays won this one
Trade the guy who hit well but is actually bad for the guy who hit badly but is actually good. I don’t see the problem.
Yeah that’s odd for the Jays
They win this hands down, other than the extra money they’re spending, which is the only reason Houston did the deal. Loperfido is AAAA at best (he wasn’t even very good at AAA). Org filler. Major K problem with limited power, and swings at everything. Sanchez at least has massive power and is an excellent defensive corner OF in case of injury for the Jays.
“Massive power” LOL …massive power is Cecil Fielder not Jesus Sanchez
Not to mention Sanchez was an embarrassment in LF when he played.
Conflating bat speed and exit velocity to power. Jesus Sanchez does crush the ball. His bat speed is 90th percentiles, however, his swing path tilt and attack angle are relatively flat. This tapers off the ceiling of power by spraying balls above and below if the barrel isn’t ideally placed.
Sanchez’s power rating is 70 out of 70. That is massive power.
bullred — raw power is 70. Game power is closer to 50. Sanchez’s career home run rate is 5.5% on balls batted in play.
He was hardly an excellent defensive corner OF for the Astros. Often looked really shaky out there. Can’t hit RH pitching at all. I couldn’t figure why the Astros would pay 6.8mil for him with their budget constraints.
I’m sure he was fine with the Marlins. He was very bad in right field and the only thing I remember about him was when he robbed 2 homers when the O’s blew us out, his 5 hit game, and how bad he was.
Apparently he was saving those 5 hits as he was 0 for 32 prior to that. I remember several catches he made looked like he only remembered he was supposed to catch it at the last second.
Honestly, I like this for Toronto. Sanchez has better tools, he’s faster and stronger. Loperfido likely the better contact guy but David Popkins has been great at getting guys to make more contact, he could help unlock the potential Sanchez has always had. Loperfido and Lukes are kind of the same skill set, made sense to move one of them IMO.
Hopefully Loperfido gets a full year this year I think he will be a pretty solid player for a while.
This doesn’t make sense for the Blue Jays. Would much rather have the younger and higher ceiling Loperfido
Not sure his ceiling is higher. Doesn’t seem like his pop will ever come around and his arm limits him to LF (or poor RF play if they really want him there). He’s a soon-to-be 27 year old who was a statistically average hitter in AAA last season.
I’ve seen numerous people play the prospect card with him today. As you said, turning 27 this year. Not sure why people think he’s a 22 year old the Jays gave up on. He’s a solid piece, I think Sanchez is as well with some tweaks. Win win, IMO
Dana Brown pulling a DiPoto and reacquiring his old prospect.
Dipoto*
Sorry, Jerry!
What do you think from a Mariner’s POV?
I think you’ll just have to settle for 2nd place again.
I wouldn’t want to settle for 2nd place, but it does indeed look like it. We’ll see.
He was Click’s prospect!
Dana traded him and then reacquired him.
Blue Jays are betting on Sanchez’s upside. Astros correct a mistake by trading Loperfido. I don’t see how this is a massive upgrade but Loperfido is cheaper and the Astros clear salary. I get this trade and I’m pretty sure all Astro fan will love it because they hate Jesus Sanchez (a lot of them) and literally almost all love Joey Loperfido. And it’s one that actually makes sense!
Jays fans feel the same way 🙁
Unfortunately, Loperfido isn’t good.
Sánchez was brutal last year….and for those touting his defense 😂, it might have been worse than his hitting….
Watching him misplay balls like a 10 year old was more than frustrating to watch.
Dana should have non-tendered him, that’s how bad he was.
I predicted we would non-tender him. Very happy they turned him into Loperfido.
It may say Sanchez is overrated, but then what does that say about Loperfido…
Unfortunately, Sanchez isn’t cheap.
Loperfido is better, not sure why the Blue Jays traded him. Sanchez feels like a downgrade.
He is not. He’s almost 27 and was an average hitter in AAA last year. You think he’s gonna BABIP over .400 in a full season MLB sample? That’s the only way he comes close to replicating his small sample size success last season.
Didn’t see the BABIP on him, a valid point. Thank you for the information!
Loperfido definitely not better at this point of career, and Sanchez has better tools.
This was a salary dump, so I’m ok with it.
Makes no sense for the Jays…
Shatkins playing with the team chemistry again…
3 inches from being World Series Champs and calling the GM Shatkins?
These ballplayers are adult professionals, they know teammates come and go all the time. They’ll live.
I’m sure the Jays players are heartbroken trading away their beloved teammate who spent most of the year in AAA and had 1 postseason at bat.
seacaptain77….Shapiro/Atkins are joined at the hip…the conjoined twins will always be known as such…
Except there is no way Atkins is the brains of the operation. Shapkins works “better” as a contraction: Four letters from each – with Shapiro presented first – AND somewhat more respectful, given their overall body of work.
Yea but why ruin a good thing. Up here we’ve been calling them Shatkins for awhile now
The proper epithet is Shatkins as most most of the verbiage that they spew is Caca.
It worked well for him last year when many had them predicted to finish last in the AL East. I would think that earns him some level of trust when it comes to making moves.
Not so much the year before when they finished last .
You just need to hear Ross Atkins talk into a microphone one time and you will realize what we are talking about.
I live in Canada so unfortunately for this Tigers fan I probably hear him more than Detroit’s GM.
There’s your Santander replacement, or at least partial replacement. I like Loperfido and now he’s back home, but does he get a regular shot? Sort of an odd move for the Astros who needed experienced outfielders, no?
I don’t know why the Astros did this move other than to pare salary. But I like it. Probably gets a regular shot or timeshare with Cole.
I wonder which team started the talks. It’s an odd bird one for sure.
I’m guessing Jays. It could be the Astros are like, hey, we want Loperfido back. What do you want? Blue Jays are like, Jesus Sanchez. Astros are like, bet.
Or maybe, it’s the Blue Jays that are like, hey, give us Jesus Sanchez. I think if it’s that case, the Blue Jays offered Joey. Dana Brown liked it.
The fact that the Astros kept Sanchez for so long signals it may have been the Jays. I think it’s the Jays, but who knows? Wonder if someone like Chandler Rome or Mitch Bannon will report this later.
Sanchez was so bad in Houston that I thought there was a shot he’d be nontendered
Loperfido is a fine bench piece so I think they did fine to get something back for the guy. I understand Toronto taking a shot. Lux tax hit on his salary does make it pretty expensive
I don’t like it for this reason.
Loperfido is who he is, good defensive guy, but Ks too much to even chance a platoon role.
In light of moving Melton who has a higher ceiling than Cole IMO, and adding a low ceiling guy to take at bats from Cole and Smith seems a bad move when what we really needed was a full time Major League OF with a good bat.
Would you rather have Loperfido or Sanchez. Keep in mind Loperfido can also play 2nd and 1st. Not sure that helps though. He’s versatile
I’m honestly a bit worried that this might be setting up a move, Paredes for Bryan Reynolds. I would think the move would be something like Reynolds and Bart for Paredes and maybe an arm or depth piece.
Doesn’t really matter how high “Melton’s ceiling “ is when he can’t stay on the field.
No, I think this is the “left-handed outfielder” they wanted.
I hope so. I’d rather have Reynolds than Paredes.
Loperfido looks like a great add.
Because Sanchez was terrible and is limited to RF.
You just said why they did it.
This is not a replacement for Santander, Loperfido and Sanchez fill the exact same riole (LHH) but Loperfido is likely better with more control. The only thing this does is take away AB from Lukes maybe.
I’m going to assume the Jays did this move because of the Santander injury. There’s honestly no other reason. They’ll align it how they see fit, but obviously saw that fit otherwise again, why bother? Still odd mind you!
Lukes could’ve been good for the one year and not the others.
Yes but Sanchez has never been good either, or Joey for that matter (no sample size). This move adds $12M or whatever to the CBT payroll when we swap Loperfido salary for Sanchez + luxury tax.
2024? 2025 pre deadline? 2023? Better track record than Lukes.
Salary dump plain and simple
Wouldn’t take much to replace the ridiculously overrated Santander.
Salad dressing!
Not that this is a big trade either way but this deal makes no sense for the Jays. The only issue with Joey is he is a LHH OF and the jays only have LHH OF…but they traded him for a LHH OF that is probably worse if you were to give Joey the same AB.
Loperfido is a former Astros outfielder who looked real good in a very small sample size with Toronto last year.
And a very good prospect at that. He was probably the headliner to get Kikuchi a couple seasons back.
Loperfido could’ve. Rumor is Bloss made it work.
Bloss was, but Joey had the most success.
Houston just traded Loperfido to Toronto back in 2024. Sounds like they had some sellers remorse so they reacquired him.
While Loperfido has only been a part time player in Toronto; his upside seems much higher than Sanchez’s. Strange trade if you ask me. Maybe with Santander going down, Toronto feels like they need someone with more power & experience in the OF?
Weird, granted don’t know much about Sanchez, but I really liked Loperfido and stats don’t seem to separate them at all.
Loperfido is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO happy to be back.
I think it’s a salary dump for Astros
Loperfido feels like someone who is going to be better than anticipated.
Clearly they see something here but the cost financially seems super steep.
Good luck to both players
I’m pretty sure the Jays ducked under the tax line in 2024, so they’d only be 2nd time payors, and be charged a 90% rate on Sanchez’ salary.
You are correct. The article is wrong. in saying they are a third time offender.
Astros fan. I will acknowledge that Sanchez has the better tools. But he really didn’t play well in Houston. Really streaky hitter. I’m betting he gets it turned around in Toronto. Glad to save the $$. We really needed the room to avoid the penalty for being over two years in a row. Joey is a fan favorite based on effort. If he can hit .250 with 15-20 HRs, we will be happy.
I like for Jays. More power and honestly zero chance Loperfido was going to get similar stats to last year based on underlying metrics. No brainer.
I’m seeing mixed opinions. Some hate this trade, some like this trade. Just commentary.
Fans will always overvalue their own players. Loperfido is basically a AAAA guy, but Toronto fans see an unsustainable small sample size and lose their minds
I will not hate this trade.
Hmmm…the Astro’s fans hated this guy….
Sanchez? Yeah
Loperfido? Hell not. Fan fav down here in Space City.
I was referring to the Astros fans not in love with Sánchez.
Unfortunately, the Toronto fans/media will be all over this guy if he doesn’t perform like the Tucker that was billed to be in the outfield.
Basically…it sounds like he’s doomed for failure.
Soooo confused on this one.
Joey seemed ready to take the next step, lefty power, and with Santander’s injury…..seemed like he was a answer
Fingers crossed for this guy.
Goodness.
When taking money into consideration, it seems like the Jays got punked a bit. Time will tell.
Yes, cause that’s how trades determine who got the better player. One team wants to duck the tax line and one team doesn’t mind spending. Loperfido has no options and can’t be sent down and he is a AAA player
I stand corrected, Loperfido has 1 option year, so it’s likely Houston also doesn’t see him as a full time player this season
Better Joey than Ross or Bing
This seems like the most sensible trade in the entire offseason.
Sensible only if you ignore the Astros needs.
Loperfido doesn’t move the needle, If he gets 350 ABs with those K rates, I’d be surprised. Fans love him cause of the effort but he’s not the full time big league offense bat we’ve needed since before last Spring Training.
You know who goes and gets these kinds of players with expected potential based on zero track record, rebuilding teams. Astros aren’t that, at least yet, but this offseason’s mismanagement is pushing us there.
That’s quite a statement whyhayzee. More sensible than the Contreras trade, Sonny Gray trade, Brandon Donovan trade, Oviedo trade, Peralta trade, Cabrera trade???
I think what he meant was that it was the most sensible trade that the Astros made this offseason. They traded traded 2 top 100 prospects in some publications (Anderson Brito and Jacob Melton) for Mike Burrows, who is a more or less unproven pitcher. Then they traded Jancel Villarroel for a Kai Wei Teng. I guess he doesn’t like either of those trades.
Either way, his statement isn’t true.
Getting Sanchez is definitely a reaction to the Santander injury. The two current Jays most affected are Nathan Lukes and Davis Schneider.
Loperfido has potential. Hasn’t quite shown it yet. Houston seems a happy zone for him.
Trade could work for both teams. Could.
It was setting up to be a great offseason for the Jays but it went down the tubes fast. Still no legitimate closer, which is why you lost the world series, didn’t get Tucker or keep Bichette. Cease contract is an albatross. Okamoto is unknown and Rogers is a 7th inning guy. They’re coming off a WS and aren’t even favorites to win the division.
Cease contract is fine but I do think it wasnt an “amazing” off season because Hoffman is still closer and he was the weakest link all season. And they lost Bo, although maybe Kazuma can have an .800 OPS and thats gravy. It was fine, but other teams (Dodgers) got significantly better. Now obviously no one will ever compete with Dodgers on paper given their monetary advantages, but Jays still need a closer.
Jays lost the World Series because the defending Champions made one less mistake and beat them.
And not being the favorite in the AL East is a blessing in disguise.
Jays aren’t perfect (Bo WILL be missed!) but they are a contender.
Unlike your team which is obviously not so good, given that you aren’t extolling their strengths
Jays lost the world series because they do not have a closer and they still don’t have a closer. My team is in the NL so obviously I’m not going to talk about that in a Jays thread. That was weak. Do better.
The Blue Jays were damn lucky to make it to the World Series.
….When were they set up to land a closer?
Down the tube?? They almost won the WS
My guess is that Houston has another acquisition in mind, but still wants to stay under the line. Now they have almost $11M to play with.
Loperfido….BPC guy!! Love it. BPC is one of, if not, the best baseball training facility in NJ. Check it out!
Jays doing Jays thing – getting worse with every move.
This move makes them better. Just costs more money. Gives them more options.
I think this allows the Astros to absorb enough of Walker’s salary to trade him.
Loperfido can also play 1b giving them a backup other than Zach Dezenzo who may not make the team.
Paredes can play 1st.
I was referring to ability to followup with a Walker. To backup Paredes not start.
Liked Loperfido but no clear path for him with Jays. Not holding out real hope in Sanchez but if Popkins can work some magic could be a serviceable addition
As a Jays fan, in some games, I can see 5 LH bats in lineup against RH starter, with Lukes, Varsho, and Sanchez in OF, Gimenez at SS and Barger at 3rd, with Okamoto/Springer at DH. If Kirk has a rest day, Heinemann is a 7th LH bat. One of Jays best asset is their versatility. Against a LH starter, Jays have options from right side to substitute (Schneider, Straw, Springer, Okamoto, Clement, Leo Jimenez, and Kirk), not to mention Vladdy everyday. That’s a great lineup!!!
they are very weak against a LH starter. (Davis actually hits better against RHP for some reason) Leo Jimenez and Straw should not be used as “people who will start against LHP” unless Gimenez is resting (hopefully)
Leo’s not making the team unless a trade or injury happens. We’ll see if a team claims him after Spring.
Wonder if a deal with the Red Sox for Yoshida, with the Sox covering half of the money, is possible now. Surely the Astros have a left hitting corner OF in mind that they just cleared the money for.
Loperfido is a left handed hitting corner outfielder (left field). Cover 30 millon and we’ll be interested.
Loperfido-Left
Meyers-Center
Smith-Right
Also Cole is in the mix and could play center if Meyers is dealt.
Either an outfielder or they are paying down Walker. Both would be best for the team.
If you attach Masataka Yoshida to Jarren Duran for Paredes, I’ll do it. (attach like 10 million in cash though).
I don’t think the Astros have the budget.
The Jays went and got an Outfielder they didn’t really need and the Astros traded away their only real experienced Outfielder beyond Meyers. Strange trade-for-trades sake
Zach Cole has played in the outfield for years.
The reality is the Jays have the money to gamble on the better upside of Sanchez. Astros do not. I’d be surprised if Loperfido even starts the year in the bigs.
Take the money out of it, cuz it’s not yours anyways and this trade makes the Jays markedly better right now.
As a Red Sox fan I applaud this reasoning. For Toronto. ‘Not my money so spend 92M on a stool-in-a-pail and 210M for a #3 starter and 500M for a very-good-but-not-great hitter, and before you know it you’re paying Luxury Tax and losing draft picks for a fourth place team, but that’s ok ‘because it’s not my money’. When a team is run as dumb as dumb can be, I like it to be a competitor of the Red Sox in the AL East.
You lost me at vladdy’s contract. If you can’t see that as a bargain in today’s environment, you aren’t seeing clearly. I expect this from Yankees fans, not you guys tho.
How many WAR do you think Vladdy earns rest of the contract?
I’d say with WAR inflation, Vladdy needs close to 40-46 WAR to consider this contract even over the next 14 seasons. That’s about 3 WAR average.
“stool-in-a-pail” ?? Translation please.
Really we are talking about an extra $7 million, Houston was still prepared to pay him the other $ 7 million.
How does this make the Jays markedly better? They have Varsho and Barger every day against RHP. Davis had a .900ish OPS against righties last year, and Lukes is also a LHH. The only thing this does is take away .750ish OPS ab against RHP for hopefuly .750ish OPS AB against RHP. Even discounting the money the move doesnt make sense other than they think they can make him better than he currently is.
It is our money. Ridiculous statement.
Sanchez had a tough time with Houston.
His time with the Marlins was much more entertaining. He was a devoted teammate, Never the sharpest tool in the box he found a couple of interesting ways to get out. Making an out on a walk was his most embarrassing moment. He was an effective outfielder but he would regularly make a play more difficult than it should have been. A barehanded catch up against the wall was is best moment of that kind.
If he sticks around for a while, there is a chance he will hit a ball where you’ve never seen a ball go before. With him there is a possibility he will break through to another level of play. I wish hiim the best of luck.
Jays just had a CF play less than half the games, and if he’s injured it would have been nice to have Loperfido behind Straw and perhaps Lukes. Plus Leo Jimenez seemed like a favourite to make the club as a backup (to the backup) middle infield. That leaves Straw, Heineman and Schneider as the bench. Looks like Jimenez will not make the team with the Sanchez move.
Welcome home Joey. Now, if only we could get Dubon back.
Braves want Brice Matthews or something.
Ross Atkins; this is why they call him ‘The Gambler’
I liked Loperfido, he was improving just never could get any playing time. Comparing on Baseball savant I can see his arm strength and bat speed weren’t there but he was reliable off the bench.
Sanchez stats have upside compared with Barger, so if Popkins can work his magic and other coaches can coax out and streamline his hitting into the “Blue Jays Style” it looks like a plus.
This is partly why Cease came to Toronto. Our coaches have a reputation of being able to improve upon or turn players around, at least in pitching. And what may be the wild bargain bin on one team may end up far better in Toronto.
We’ll see if the hitting coaches are successful. It’s a two way street, the player has to want to try as well. It’s a gamble
Loperfido would typically pinch run so Sanchez is faster at least.
Also writers seem fascinated to try to trade Lukes when he can play all OF positions and would platoon with Schneider in LF now that Sanchez would play more RF. There’s no way he’s going anywhere unless both are being traded for someone more established than Sanchez
When “either” ends the sentence, there shouldn’t be a comma after it.
You are very good when it comes to grammar.