Jesús

Sánchez

Barger exited Sunday’s contest with bilateral ankle discomfort, but Schneider suggested that the departure was precautionary. The manager said he hurt both ankles on an early play, and suggested he would just be down for a day or two. If Barger can’t go Monday against the Dodgers, Jesús Sánchez likely gets the start in his absence.

The Jays have already demonstrated that they’re really fond of Nathan Lukes, so it’s very important that Sánchez get off to a hot start here if he wants to play most of the time against righties. That he’s opened 4-for-9 with a homer, three RBI, two walks and no strikeouts is much more significant than it would be if were still playing for the Marlins.

Sánchez also drew a walk. After sitting the first two games of the year, the 28-year-old made an impact with a two-run blast off Luis Morales for his first homer as a member of the Jays. It makes sense that Sánchez would play against right-handers, but fantasy managers need to see how this shakes out before committing a roster spot.

It never seemed like Sánchez had fully carved out a role with the Jays after coming over in a mid-February deal for Joey Loperfido. Nathan Lukes is starting in left field and batting second for Toronto against a right-hander. Sánchez probably doesn’t need to be dropped in deeper leagues ASAP, but those in 12-team leagues can probably move on while we see how the playing time shakes out.

The big finish here could prove important for Sánchez, who hasn’t really been promised anything in left field. That the Jays took on $6.8 million and gave up Joey Loperfido for him suggested that he’d be a starter against righties, but Nathan Lukes was fairly valuable in that role last year and has outhit Sánchez this spring. It still seems like Sánchez should have the role initially, but we’ll see; even if he does, his margin for error might be pretty slim.

This trade came together very quickly. Sánchez should start against all right-handed pitchers and hit near the middle of a solid Blue Jays lineup. His inability to hit lefties is going to make it hard to roster him in fantasy leagues with weekly lineup locks, but he should have lots of value in daily moves leagues or leagues with mid-week roster changes.

This move seems to be directly connected to Anthony Santander being out for six months. Sánchez should slot in as a starter against right-handed pitching since he is a career .253/.324/.450 hitter against RHP with a 111 wRC+. Davis Schneider would then likely platoon with him and start against lefties. Loperfido also has minor league options remaining while Sánchez doesn’t, and, as Chandler Rome points out, Sánchez is owed $6.8 million while Loperfido is making the league minimum. This allows the Astros to save money for future potential moves.

Sánchez hit .199/.269/.342 in 48 games with the Astros after the trade deadline, adding four home runs and striking out 40 times. It was not the best first impression, but he will chance to get regular starts in the outfield with Yordan Alvarez playing slotting in mostly at DH in 2026.

Rome also notes that “Sánchez’s dismal performance after the trade deadline may impact his value.” The 28-year-old hit .199/.269/.342 in 48 games with the Astros, while adding four home runs and striking out 40 times. In his career, Sánchez has a moderate .239 batting average, but that comes with a solid .181 ISO and 11.5 percent barrel rate. Perhaps somebody can turn that hard contact into more consistent results.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Astros go about navigating their outfield. They’ve already indicated that Yordan Alvarez will see more left field time and that Jose Altuve is again slated to play both second base and left field. The club still has Jake Meyers in center, with breakout prospect Zach Cole and Jacob Melton also options there. Another big bat would be nice, but shutting out Smith, who could be greatly improved as a sophomore, might be a mistake, and Sánchez, if he isn’t moved, would probably do solid work against righties, even though he was a disappointment after being picked up from Miami.