Blue Jays trade surprisingly DFA'd infielder to Marlins amid dueling hot starts

The Toronto Blue Jays are officially on the board after making their first trade of the 2026 season.

A few hours after the Blue Jays finished their 5-2 victory over the Athletics, Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reported that the club agreed to a trade to send middle infielder Leo Jiménez to the Miami Marlins. The trade comes amid a 3-0 start to the season for both clubs. The Blue Jays began the year by sweeping the Athletics, while the Marlins took three straight from the Colorado Rockies to begin the season.

Blue Jays receive corner infielder in exchange for Leo Jiménez who was DFA'd just before Opening Day

Jiménez, 24 years old, was originally signed by the Blue Jays as an international free agent in 2017. Since then, he has been part of the organization in the minor leagues, making his major league debut with the team in 2024. Jiménez slashed .207/.303/.332 with an 85 wRC+ and was worth 0.3 fWAR in 81 games at the MLB level and accumulated 242 plate appearances over parts of two seasons with the team.

The Blue Jays had previously designated Jiménez for assignment as part of the final round of roster cuts to end the spring. He had slashed .231/.310/.231 with a 51 wRC+ during spring training and was regarded as being one of the players who could potentially land a bench role at the big league level coming out of camp

Jiménez had mostly served as depth for the Blue Jays previously, however he was out of minor league options and would have to clear waivers, and his departure seemed inevitable anyways. In 2024, he was ranked as the fifth best prospect in the organization by MLB Pipeline.

In return, the Blue Jays are acquiring minor league corner infielder Dub Gleed. Gleed, 23 years old, was drafted by the Marlins in the ninth round of the 2024 draft. He rose rapidly through the minor leagues, starting 2025 playing in the complex to eventually seeing time in Triple-A.

Playing across multiple minor league levels in 2025, he slashed .252/.391/.347 with a 124 wRC+. Gleed does not possess much power, slugging just .347 with an ISO of .095, however he does carry great plate discipline, showcased by his 15.5 percent walk rate.

During his time in A-ball playing for the Jupiter Hammerheads, Gleed posted a .384 OBP, 19 per cent walk rate and 111 wRC+. He also ranked in the 84th percentile in PullAIR% and 86th percentile in O-Swing%. Gleed makes up for a lack of raw power with his ability to pull the ball in the air. 

The Blue Jays are also receiving $250,000 in international bonus pool money and they'll look to put that to good use later this summer when the international signing period opens up. In the meantime, Jiménez has a chance to follow in the footsteps of another former Blue Jays infielder - turned Marlins regular, Otto Lopez.

Lopez played in nine games over two seasons with Toronto between 2021-2022, but was blocked at the big league level from becoming a regular with Toronto. Lopez eventually found his way to the Marlins, where he's been worth 6.3 bWAR over the last two seasons, and also played for Team Canada at the 2026 World Baseball classic.