Photo Credit: William Liang, Imagn Images

Blue Jays acquire outfielder Jesus Sanchez from the Astros

Originally posted on Bluejaysnation | By Ian Finlayson | Last updated Feb 13, 2026 11:16 AM ET

The Toronto Blue Jays have completed an outfielder swap.

Joey Loperfido has been traded back to the Houston Astros in exchange for outfielder Jesús Sánchez, the team announced Friday.

The trade reorients the Blue Jays’ outfield depth chart and comes shortly after it was announced that Anthony Santander would undergo labral surgery and miss five to six months.

Sánchez, a career .253/.324/.450 hitter against right-handed pitching (111 wRC+), stands to pack a punch against from the left side of the platoon while likely splitting time in the outfield with Davis Schneider and Nathan Lukes.

OFFICIAL: We’ve acquired OF Jesús Sánchez from the Astros in exchange for OF Joey Loperfido.

Welcome to our #BlueJays family! pic.twitter.com/eC2x0SqRxq

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) February 13, 2026

Born in the Dominican Republic, Sanchez had 14 home runs, 13 stolen bases and 48 RBIs last season to go along with a .237/.304/.395 slash line over 134 games split between the Miami Marlins and Astros. He was traded to Houston at the deadline for a return of Ryan Gusto, Chase Jaworsky, and Esmil Valencia. He struggled down the stretch with the Astros, hitting for a .199 average and .611 OPS.

Sanchez, 28, had spent the first five-and-a-half seasons of his career with the Marlins. He is owed $6.8 million in 2026 and will become a free agent after this season.

Meanwhile, Loperfido is headed back to Houston after initially being acquired from the Astros in the Yusei Kikuchi trade.

The 26-year-old spent parts of one-and-a-half seasons with the Blue Jays, going back and forth from the majors and Triple-A Buffalo.

He played 84 total games for Toronto, collecting six home runs and 23 RBIs and slashing .253/.296/.408. His best numbers with the Jays came in 2o25, when he contributed four homers and 14 RBIs and had a .333/.379/.500 line over 41 games.

This article first appeared on Bluejaysnation and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: