Spring Training for the Toronto Blue Jays opened on an ominous note, with the news that slugger Anthony Santander — just entering the second year of a five-year, $92.5 million deal that already looks perilously close to going underwater — would be sidelined for five or six months after undergoing shoulder surgery in January. Luckily, the Houston Astros were willing to throw them a somewhat baffling lifeline, sending outfielder Jesus Sanchez to Toronto on Friday morning in return for outfielder Joey Loperfido.
Sanchez won't make Blue Jays fans forget about missing out on Kyle Tucker this winter; he posted a .699 OPS last season (92 OPS+) and struggled badly down the stretch of the season after coming over to the Astros ahead of the trade deadline. But he's at the very least a viable starter at a position of need, and Toronto was able to get him in exchange for a player who is objectively worse across the board. As for Houston ... well, let's just say it's clear where the Astros' priorities lie right now, and they're not ones that fans should be thrilled about.
MLB trade grades: Blue Jays acquire Jesus Sanchez from Astros
Blue Jays grade: B
Sanchez has long been equal parts tantalizing and frustrating. He certainly looks the part at 6-foot-4, 222 pounds, and he oozes power. But his unrefined approach at the plate and his inability to hit the ball in the air consistently has left him unable to bring most of that power into actual games: He slashed .243/.310/.426 over five-plus years with the Miami Marlins, never hitting more than 18 homers in a single season while battling a string of nagging injuries.
At this point, it seems unlikely that Sanchez will ever put it all together and reach his hypothetical ceiling. But he's at least a league-average bat and a fine defender in right field, and there's some remaining upside to be unlocked here if the Jays can work some developmental magic. The loss of Santander — who, despite how badly he struggled last season, was still one of the most credible power threats in this lineup — created a need for more pop, and there aren't very many startable position players available this late in the offseason. Sanchez is probably about the best Toronto could've hoped for in a replacement, and all they had to give up was a player who didn't fit into their short- or long-term plans anyway.
Astros grade: D+
You might look at Loperfido's top-line numbers in 2025 and think the Astros got a steal here: He was one of many Toronto breakouts last season, posting a .879 OPS across 41 games for the Jays. Look under the hood, though, and it seems pretty clear that his production wasn't likely to repeat this season. Loperfido ranked well below average in just about every contact metric, and his .316 xwOBA (basically, what you'd expect a player's OPS to look like based on his batted-ball data) lagged far behind his actual number of .381. Sanchez is a much better bet to hit in 2026 than Loperfido is, point blank.
So why are the Astros making this deal? Two reasons. The first is familiarity: Loperfido was an Astros draft pick back in 2021, so the organization knows him well and vice versa. But the second, and most important, is money: While Sanchez is entering his second year of arbitration and will hit free agency after the 2027 season, Loperfido won't be arb-eligible until 2028, meaning he'll make the minimum salary for two more years.
Which, for an Astros team facing a payroll crunch, was apparently worth its weight in gold. It's virtually impossible to argue that Houston got better in this deal, no matter how badly Sanchez performed in his debut with the team last season. Sanchez is the more physically gifted player with a substantially better track record, and the Astros lineup is just as unbalanced today as it was yesterday. What they did get is cheaper, shaving several millions off their tax number both this year and next. Maybe that flexibility will help the team dig out of its current quagmire, but an uphill climb to AL contention just got even tougher.