Blue Jays Place Jesús Sánchez On IL

The Blue Jays have placed outfielder Jesús Sánchez on the 10-day injured list with a right ankle sprain, Hazel Mae of Sportsnet reports. To take his roster spot, Toronto recalled outfielder Yohendrick Piñango from Triple-A Buffalo.

Sánchez suffered the injury when he crashed into the wall in left field while making a catch in the Blue Jays’ loss to the Rangers on Friday. He left the game in the seventh inning as a result. X-rays came back negative for a fracture, per Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling, but the injury is serious enough to require at least a 10-day stint on the shelf.

Sánchez, whom Toronto acquired from Houston for outfielder Joey Loperfido in the offseason, has gotten into 73 games, started 58 and logged significant time in both outfield corners. Despite a career-low 4.3 percent walk rate, the 28-year-old has slashed a solid .274/.316/.437 (107 wRC+) with seven home runs in 234 plate appearances. He has drawn just three free passes in 52 trips to the plate this month, which helps explain his subpar .643 June OPS. But Statcast is bullish on Sánchez, whose expected stats (.277 xBA, .457 xSLG and .335 xwOBA) suggest he has deserved better results than he has gotten.  Defensively, though, Sánchez  has earned poor grades. Despite boasting 74th-percentile arm strength, he has accounted for minus-7 Fielding Run Value, minus-6 Defensive Runs Saved and minus-6 Outs Above Average.

With Sánchez on the shelf, Toronto is starting Piñango in left and Nathan Lukes in right against Texas on Saturday. Those two have logged a matching 113 wRC+ over a combined 298 plate appearances this year. They are likely to get the lion’s share of playing time alongside center fielder Daulton Varsho in Sánchez’s absence. Myles Straw is also in the fold, while Addison Barger is working back from his own IL stint. Barger, who has played just eight games this season, has been down since May 10 with right elbow inflammation. Toronto’s injury tracker at MLB.com indicates he may return by mid-July. Sánchez could also make it back by then if this is just a mild ankle sprain.