Blue Jays get rude awakening on Jesus Sanchez trade with Astros in town

It hasn't been a good season for Joey Loperfido. The 27-year-old outfielder is in his second stint with the Houston Astros and he hasn't had the kind of season he, or the Astros were hoping for. Slashing just .238/.337/.357 with one home run in 32 games isn't exactly helping the offense win games...that is, unless he's doing damage against his former team.

In that case, Loperfido is directly responsible for helping the Astros win a game. A 9-7, 11-inning victory on the road against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on Tuesday (Jun. 23) afternoon. A game that more likely defined the frustrations of the Blue Jays' season than it did highlight anything positive about the Astros. But it was a game that put the spotlight on a former Blue Jays' player who managed to come through when his team needed it the most.

With the game tied 6-6 in the 11th, Loperfido launched a three-run home run with two outs in the inning to give the Astros a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Up to this point it has felt as if the Blue Jays had handedly won the offseason trade that sent Loperfido to the Astros in exchange for Jesús Sánchez. While no one should be saying they've lost the trade by any stretch of the imagination, it feels more and more like it's becoming a wash.

Sánchez trade may not be working out the way the Blue Jays had hoped

The Blue Jays added Sánchez in the offseason as way to replace the injured Anthony Santander. The hope was he would provide the missing power, while adding a plus-arm in the outfield, even if his glove was suspect. While he's hit better to this point than Loperfido, it hasn't gone exactly to plan.

Sánchez has produced a .278/.320/.443 slash line with a 109 wRC+ and has hit seven home runs. Those are fine numbers, but the Blue Jays need more, especially in the power department, and right now he's not providing enough of that to outweigh his defensive issues. He's produced a -8.7 defensive fWAR, with a 1.6 offensive fWAR.

He's also had a tough month of June, with a .306 OBP and .684 OPS with just two home runs. His chase rate for the season is now ranked in the 7th percentile, at 40.2% and he's only squaring up 22.2% of the pitches he hits, which ranks in the 26th percentile.

The lack of power from Sànchez is starting to weigh on the Blue Jays. They already have an abundance of left-handed hitting outfielders, all of whom are producing similar numbers to Sànchez.

Daulton Varsho has a .440 SLG and 114 wRC+ with seven home runs. Nathan Lukes has a .344 OBP and 109 wRC+ with two home runs. Before he was sent down, Yohendrick Piñango had a .433 SLG with four home runs and a 113 wRC+. It simply comes down to the fact that Sànchez isn't doing anything more remarkably better than anyone else, and that's the problem.

In terms of a do-over in the trade department, Loperfido certainly has the makings of being a much better defensive outfielder than Sànchez, but other than that he has yet to show any consistency to his game in 2026. But on a day where Sànchez went 1-for-5 with two strikeouts, and Loperfido hit the game winning home run, the trade certainly hits a sore spot for Blue Jays fans.

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