Former White Sox shortstop Lenyn Sosa released by Blue Jays after trade fails to pay off

When the Toronto Blue Jays acquired Lenyn Sosa from the Chicago White Sox in April, it was easy to see the appeal. Here was a 26-year-old infielder coming off the best season of his major league career, in which he led Chicago with 22 home runs and 75 RBI.

The Blue Jays, although it was only a few weeks into the season, had not yet found their power stroke. So injecting a potential power bat into the lineup early in the year made lots of sense.

Five months later, the Blue Jays have given up on that experiment. The Blue Jays released Sosa from Triple-A Buffalo on Friday, bringing an abrupt end to his Toronto tenure.

The most disappointing outcome is that Sosa never gave the Blue Jays enough reason's to keep giving him more opportunities.

Sosa was coming off a 2025 season in which he hit .264/.293/.434 over 140 games with the White Sox, setting career highs across the board. But even the White Sox were skeptical of what he could do as an encore.

Chicago’s infield picture had become crowded over the winter and with Miguel Vargas, Colson Montgomery, Chase Meidroth and Munetaka Murakami all projected for regular roles, Sosa no longer had a clear path to everyday playing time in the Windy City.

That made the Blue Jays’ decision to jump in and trade for him a very understandable "baseball deal". It just didn't work out.

Sosa struggled badly in his brief run with Toronto, hitting just .188 with one home run and one walk in 28 games. For a player whose value was always going to depend heavily on how much damage he could do at the plate, there was not enough offensive impact to offset the swing-and-miss and lack of on-base production.

A right wrist contusion interrupted his season and eventually sent him to the injured list, but even after he was activated from the 60-day IL and joined Buffalo, the results didn't change for the better. In 17 games with the Bisons, Sosa hit .254/.309/.397 with a .706 OPS and five extra-base hits.

The Blue Jays really had no reason to keep carrying him considering they have quite a few intriguing up the middle players that will be forcing their own way into the conversation next spring.

Lenyn Sosa’s release could open the door for younger Blue Jays infielders

If there is a bigger takeaway from Sosa’s release, it is that the Blue Jays can now start looking harder at some of their younger internal infield options heading into next season.

Josh Kasevich is one name to watch. The 25-year-old was named Buffalo’s 2026 Stan Barron Most Valuable Player after becoming the most consistent bat in the Bisons’ lineup, leading the team in games played, batting average, hits, runs scored and total bases.

Kasevich does not provide the same home run upside as Sosa, but his contact ability, defensive reliability and strong Triple-A season should put him on the Blue Jays' radar. He slashed .285/.362/.367 with four home runs and a 9.6% walk rate compared to an 11.5% strikeout rate.

Jay Harry is another younger name who could factor into that conversation after a strong year in Buffalo as well. The 23-year-old hit .394/.349/.505 with 14 home runs in 102 games played.

It felt like both Harry and Kasevich were right on the bubble the entire season but their call ups never came. Now, with Sosa gone and several changes expected over the winter, the Blue Jays have two guys who will be worth watching when camp opens.

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