Astros may have huge regrets if Blue Jays are right about Jesus Sanchez

This one would definitely hurt a bit.

Eric Cole

Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jesus Sanchez (12) / Jonathan Dyer-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros have long had an issue with their lineup balance, given their lack of impact left-handed bats. Yordan Alvarez is as good as they come, but he was hurt most of 2025, and he is still just one man. So, when the Astros traded for Jesús Sanchez at the trade deadline, there was hope that Houston finally found the left-handed power bat they coveted so much. Unfortunately, that is not how things turned out.

After last year's trade, in 160 plate appearances, Sanchez only managed a .199/.269/.342 line. There've been worse performances after a trade, but not that many; especially when you're talking about established major league talent.

Things got so bad that the coversation shifted to how the Astros could get rid of Sanchez this past offseason despite their persistent need for lefty bats. The Astros did just that by trading him to Toronto right before the start of spring training.

But according to comments made in the immediate aftermath of the trade, the Blue Jays think they can unlock Sanchez's potential at the plate, which would be a huge swing-and-miss for the Astros.

Jesus Sanchez's fate with the Blue Jays could end up being a black eye on the Astros

Sanchez's numbers with Houston were objectively bad, so one cannot fault the Astros for deciding to move on. As a team whose competitive window appears to be closing, the Astros can't afford to wait around for Sanchez to figure things out. They don't need left-handed hitting help in two or three years, they need it right now.

Toronto, however, seems to like Sanchez and, in particular, his bat speed going forward. Despite his struggles last season, Sanchez still had a bat speed in the top 7% in all of baseball. Assuming he can make better swing decisions and improve his pitch recognition, the Blue Jays might be on to something here.

If Toronto unlocks Sanchez's true potential and Joey Loperfido struggles, that's going to be a terrible look for Houston's front office. They gave up on Loperfido once when they needed left-handed offensive help, and then traded for Sanchez in a failed attempt to fix the problem. If they take Lopefido back only for Sanchez to be the exact guy they need in their lineup, it is going to call into question the organization's ability to evaluate and maximize all the talent on the roster.

Given that Sanchez's hit tool questions long pre-date his arrival to the Astros, that outcome seems unlikely. However, that doesn't mean that he can't end up being a source of embarrassment for Dana Brown and Co. anyway.

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.