The Blue Jays moved on from Jesús Sánchez on Wednesday, designating the offseason addition for assignment after his uneven run in Toronto never really found a stable lane. In his place, the club called up Rudy Martin Jr., giving the 30-year-old outfielder his first shot in the majors 12 years after he was drafted.
Sánchez arrived from the Houston Astros during spring training in the Joey Loperfido deal, with Toronto hoping he could help replace some of the power lost when Anthony Santander had shoulder surgery in the spring. The profile made sense on paper. Before the trade, the former Miami Marlins and Astros outfielder had 73 homers across six big-league seasons and had been a steady threat against right-handed pitching.
The bat wasn’t empty. Sánchez hit eight home runs for Toronto and finished with a .734 OPS, a mark above league average.
But the glove kept dragging him back into the picture for all the wrong reasons. He lost two fly balls in the roof at Tropicana Field during Toronto’s 7-6 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in August, then dropped another in the Jays’ 6-1 loss at the Kansas City Royals last week.
His minus-8 outs above average put him among the worst outfielders in baseball this year.
That combination made him hard to keep in the lineup on a Blue Jays club that has needed offense all season. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has struggled, George Springer has had an up-and-down, injury-filled year, and Addison Barger has also dealt with injury.
Toronto could have lived with shaky defense if Sánchez kept supplying pop. Instead, he managed just one homer and a .656 OPS in the second half, and the offensive impact simply wasn’t there often enough to justify the role.
The outfield picture also tightened around him. Myles Straw, Brett Bateman and Nathan Lukes have been seeing regular time, while Springer has been used at designated hitter. Josh Smith, Charles McAdoo and possibly Santander, who started a rehab assignment with Triple-A Buffalo on Wednesday, are also part of the mix.
Martin brings a different skill set. He has spent nine minor-league seasons, along with brief stops in the Mexican League and independent ball, and the Blue Jays claimed him off waivers from the Orioles earlier this year. In 91 minor-league games this season, he posted an .815 OPS and swiped 45 bases in 53 attempts, giving Toronto some speed off the bench as he gets his first taste of the big leagues.
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