The Houston Astros were quite busy at the trade deadline this summer. They added several bats to bolster their lineup, with their biggest move being the one to bring back Carlos Correa from the Minnesota Twins. They have the third-best record in the American League, leading the AL West by 1.5 games with a 69-55 mark so far.
Another move the Astros made was the trade with the Miami Marlins to land outfielder Jesus Sanchez, who had homered in his last game with the Marlins before being sent over the Houston.
Unfortunately, his bat hasn't caught up just yet, but he has found other ways to make his impact known in Houston. In Sunday's blowout loss to the Baltimore Orioles, he played some pretty good defense in right field, even robbing two home runs.
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Astros reaping benefits of Jesus Sanchez trade with Marlins
At the plate, Sanchez has struggled a little bit. He is hitting .244/.306/.398 with 10 home runs, 37 RBI, nine stolen bases, a .704 OPS and a 93 OPS+. However, he put all of those concerns to the side on Sunday with his spectacular defense. One of the home runs he robbed would have been Orioles top prospect Samuel Basallo's first dinger in the Major Leagues, so he played the role of heartbreaker for a minute.
Even though he has struggled at the plate, Sanchez is finding ways to contribute with the Astros and provide value to a team that is making a push for its 10th postseason appearance in the last 11 years and ninth in a row.
Jesus Sanchez has room to grow with the Houston Astros
Even better is that Sanchez is only 27 years old and still has room to grow, and the Astros have him under contract through the 2027 season. When he's right, he provides power from the left side of the plate, but he showed on Sunday that he's pretty good defensively as well.
Robbing one home run is already impressive enough, but being able to rob a second one is even more noteworthy. This trade may ultimately work out just fine for the Astros as they try to capture their eighth AL West title in the last nine years.
He'll be a key piece of the puzzle down the stretch as they try to make their push for October. But his dazzling defense was on full display on Sunday despite a rough Astros loss to the Orioles.