Jesús

Sánchez

This trade came together very quickly. Sánchez should start against all right-handed pitchers and hit near the middle of a solid Blue Jays lineup. His inability to hit lefties is going to make it hard to roster him in fantasy leagues with weekly lineup locks, but he should have lots of value in daily moves leagues or leagues with mid-week roster changes.

This move seems to be directly connected to Anthony Santander being out for six months. Sánchez should slot in as a starter against right-handed pitching since he is a career .253/.324/.450 hitter against RHP with a 111 wRC+. Davis Schneider would then likely platoon with him and start against lefties. Loperfido also has minor league options remaining while Sánchez doesn’t, and, as Chandler Rome points out, Sánchez is owed $6.8 million while Loperfido is making the league minimum. This allows the Astros to save money for future potential moves.

Sánchez hit .199/.269/.342 in 48 games with the Astros after the trade deadline, adding four home runs and striking out 40 times. It was not the best first impression, but he will chance to get regular starts in the outfield with Yordan Alvarez playing slotting in mostly at DH in 2026.

Rome also notes that “Sánchez’s dismal performance after the trade deadline may impact his value.” The 28-year-old hit .199/.269/.342 in 48 games with the Astros, while adding four home runs and striking out 40 times. In his career, Sánchez has a moderate .239 batting average, but that comes with a solid .181 ISO and 11.5 percent barrel rate. Perhaps somebody can turn that hard contact into more consistent results.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Astros go about navigating their outfield. They’ve already indicated that Yordan Alvarez will see more left field time and that Jose Altuve is again slated to play both second base and left field. The club still has Jake Meyers in center, with breakout prospect Zach Cole and Jacob Melton also options there. Another big bat would be nice, but shutting out Smith, who could be greatly improved as a sophomore, might be a mistake, and Sánchez, if he isn’t moved, would probably do solid work against righties, even though he was a disappointment after being picked up from Miami.

Sánchez’s Astros tenure has been enough of a disaster to make one wonder if he’ll be non-tendered this winter. He’s hit just .194/.270/.328 in 148 plate appearances since arriving from Miami. His error tonight wasn’t a backbreaker — it just led to Brett Harris picking up an extra base on a single — but it did precede three runs scoring in the fifth.

No Astros had good days offensively in this one, but Sánchez was the only player to go hitless and strike out twice, and his mishandling of a liner to right led to a run in the eighth. He’s been a disappointment in hitting .221/.302/.385 with just seven RBI in 33 games since arriving from Miami, but he’ll still likely remain in the Astros lineup to face righties the next two days.

Sánchez put the Astros’ only run of the game on the board with a solo homer off Tanner Gordon in the second inning. Houston had just five more hits on the day as they were shut down by the Rockies. Sánchez would later be pinch-hit for with a lefty on the mound in the eighth. The 27-year-old outfielder has homers in two straight starts, giving him 11 on the season while hitting .251/.311/.417 with 51 runs scored, 40 RBI, and nine steals across 415 plate appearances.

Sánchez broke out of a major slump with a 5-for-5 night in the series opener on Thursday, but it wasn’t enough to earn him a spot on Friday’s lineup against left-hander Cade Povich. Mauricio Dubon will start in his place in left field and bat seventh for the Astros on Friday evening.

Sánchez smacked a run-scoring single off of Brandon Young in the third inning that extended the Astros’ early lead to 5-1. He then rode home on a two-run blast by Yainer Diaz. He also singled in the first, fifth and ninth innings while knocking a double into right field in the seventh. With his monstrous five-hit night, the 27-year-old outfielder is now hitting .249/.310/.400 with 10 homers, 38 RBI and nine stolen bases on the season.