The Blue Jays get their hands on Jesus Sanchez

At the start of the offseason, it was believed that the Toronto Blue Jays were likely to send Joey Loperfido elsewhere.

And now it's a done deal. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, the Blue Jays have acquired outfielder Jesus Sanchez from the Houston Astros in exchange for Loperfido's services.

Trade news: The Toronto Blue Jays acquired outfielder Jesus Sanchez from the Houston Astros for outfielder Joey Loperfido, whom they had traded to Toronto in the Yusei Kikuchi deal at the 2024 deadline.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 13, 2026

This marks a return to his roots for Loperfido, who was sent to Toronto in the trade involving Yusei Kikuchi at the 2024 trade deadline.

With Anthony Santander out of action for at least five months, the Toronto front office was desperately looking for a left-handed hitter. For the Astros, this is a money-saving trade, with Sanchez set to earn a modest $6.8 million while Loperfido earns the league minimum salary.

Sanchez split his 2025 season between the Miami Marlins and the Astros, batting .237 with 14 home runs. However, his stint in Houston was a disaster, as he batted .199 in 48 games after being acquired at the trade deadline.

For his part, Loperfido posted an excellent .333 batting average and .879 OPS during his brief 41-game stint with the Jays last season.

Contractually, Sanchez has only two years of control remaining, while Loperfido is under team control until 2030.

This is therefore a risky bet for the Jays, but we'll see how it plays out on the field in 2026, as Sanchez's bat speed could make the difference if he can improve on his minor flaws.

This content was created with the help of AI.