Blue Jays choose journeyman infielder over promising rookie by selecting Luis Urías

The Toronto Blue Jays selected infielder Luis Urías to the MLB roster and optioned outfielder Yohendrick Piñango to Triple-A Buffalo in a corresponding move, the team announced Monday.

Toronto acquired Urías on Saturday in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks for cash considerations. The eight-year MLB veteran has spent the entirety of his 2026 campaign playing in the minor leagues up until now. 

This is the second demotion for Piñango this season, having previously been sent down on May 9th and then subsequently recalled two days later on May 11th.

What does Urías bring to the Blue Jays that Piñango doesn’t?

Urías slashed .230/.315/.338 in 96 games with the Athletics in 2025. He hit seven home runs and eight doubles while collecting 25 RBIs during that time, playing the majority of his games at second base but also making a few starts at third. 

He owns a .707 OPS (94 OPS+) over 582 MLB games, more than half of which came with the Milwaukee Brewers from 2020 through 2023. He slugged a career-high 23 home runs with 75 RBIs and a .789 OPS (112 OPS+) with them in 2021. 

Urías has done the bulk of damage against left-handed pitching; he owns a 109 wRC+ and .753 OPS across 548 career plate appearances in these matchups. 

He profiles as a sorely needed right-handed bat for a Blue Jays team in desperate need of production against lefties. They entered Monday ranked bottom-five in all of baseball in wRC+ (83), OPS (.654), and batting average (.218) against southpaws. 

His defensive versatility—he also has experience playing shortstop—should provide the Blue Jays with the roster flexibility they covet. He could fill in for either of Andrés Giménez or Ernie Clement up the middle should they require a day off. 

For Piñango, this latest demotion came down to roster construction more so than offensive production. The 24-year-old impressed with a .283/.331/.433 slash line, four home runs, and 18 RBIs through his first 43 games as a Blue Jay. He made lots of loud contact and demonstrated a mature approach at the plate well beyond his years.

He unfortunately fell victim to Toronto’s log-jam of left-handed hitting outfielders, which currently includes Daulton Varsho, Nathan Lukes, and Jesús Sánchez. Further compounding the issue is the impending return of Addison Barger from the injured list. 

A return to Buffalo will allow Piñango to get the at-bats he needs to keep developing as a young hitter. It should also afford him some much-needed time to work on his outfield defence, which was unacceptably poor on multiple occasions. 

Urías is the player the Blue Jays need right now—it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Piñango back with the big league club at some point this year, though.

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