On the first day of pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training earlier this week, the Toronto Blue Jays were hit with a slew of injury updates.
One of the major injuries for Toronto was sustained by outfielder Anthony Santander. He'll be out five-to-six months after undergoing surgery to recover a torn labrum.
With Santander's injury, it seems the Blue Jays' outfield will consist of Addison Barger in right field, Daulton Varsho in center field and a left-field-by-committee approach including Nathan Lukes and Myles Straw. George Springer will likely factor into the outfield at various points in the year. However, it seems more probable due to his age (36-years-old) that he'll mainly be used as a designated hitter.
On Friday, Toronto made a move that could affect how it will approach the open outfield position this upcoming season.
The Blue Jays traded outfielder Joey Loperfido to the Houston Astros in return for Houston Astros outfielder Jesus Sanchez.
OFFICIAL: We’ve acquired OF Jesús Sánchez from the Astros in exchange for OF Joey Loperfido.
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) February 13, 2026
Welcome to our #BlueJays family! pic.twitter.com/eC2x0SqRxq
Loperfido slashed .333/.379/.500 with an .879 OPS and hit four doubles and four home runs with 14 RBIs in 41 games for Toronto last season.
Sanchez finished his '25 campaign with a slash line of .237/.304/.395 with a .699 OPS in 134 games with the Miami Marlins and the Astros. He hit 21 doubles, four triples and 14 homers with 48 RBIs.
In a post shared on "X" by MLB.com's Keegan Matheson, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins expanded on what Sanchez's role on the team will be in '26.
"He obviously has been incredibly effective against right-handed pitching," Atkins said. "He slots in as one of our better options against right-handers on a very regular basis."
Ross Atkins on Jesús Sánchez:
— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) February 13, 2026
“He has obviously been incredibly effective against right-handed pitching. He slots in as one of our better options against right-handers on a very regular basis.” #BlueJayspic.twitter.com/uHdxvqdIzo
Sanchez, who will enter his seventh season in the major leagues, has a career .253 batting average against right-handed pitching. He hit .251 with 18 doubles, four triples and 13 homers against righties last season.
Sanchez has spent the majority of his career playing in right field but has registered 582.2 career innings in left field.
Sanchez's ability to play all three outfield positions and his ability against right-handed pitching gives Toronto some flexibility to work with on how to construct its roster on a day-to-day basis.
How the outfield is constructed this offseason will likely provide some insight into how the Blue Jays plan to construct the outfield on a day-to-day basis. And with the quantity of outfielders the organization has, there's a good chance the outfield sees a lot of different variations in Grapefruit League competition.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION:
Remember to join our BLUE JAYS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Blue Jays fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too