Blue Jays release pitching prospect Rafael Sánchez and others

The Toronto Blue Jays recently released a handful of players.

One of them happens to be Rafael Sánchez, a Cuban-born right-handed pitcher who made a rapid ascent up the minor league after the Blue Jays signed him in May 2022. Other players released were Dylan Leach, Travis Kuhn, Josh Fleming, Justin Topa, and Matt Bowman.

Zeroing in on Sánchez, he signed with the Blue Jays on May 13th, 2022, though it was reported a few weeks ahead of time. Signing at the age of 22, Sánchez made nine starts in the Dominican Summer League, then three starts in the Florida Complex League. 

The Cuban-born righty-handed pitcher wrapped up his 2022 season in Single-A, finishing with a 3.20 ERA and 3.04 FIP in 59 innings of work. Repeating the Single-A level in 2023, Sánchez made six starts, authoring a 2.27 ERA and 2.91 FIP in 35.2 innings pitched.  He earned a call-up to the High-A Vancouver Canadians, making 17 starts where he had a 5.17 ERA and 4.34 FIP in 78.1 innings pitched, giving him a season ERA and FIP of 4.26 and 3.89 respectively.

Like the prior season, Sánchez repeated the level to begin the new season. Over 17 appearances, Sánchez had a 4.03 ERA and 2.80 FIP in 82.2 innings of work with the Canadians. Toward the end of the season, he earned a call-up to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats, posting a 2.28 ERA and 4.90 FIP in 23.2 innings of work.

Unfortunately, Sánchez and his development hit a wall in 2025. Spending the entire season in Double-A, he finished the season with a 5.54 ERA and 3.85 FIP, with a 17.3 K% and 7.6 BB% in 91 innings of work. In early June of that year, he threw a seven-inning no-hitter, one of the defining moments of his career.

Sánchez threw a handful of innings with Cangrejeros de Santurce in the Puerto Rican Winter League, but spent the entirety of the 2026 season on the injured list.

It was a similar situation for Leach. The catcher signed a minor league deal on June 7th, 2025, ironically the same day as Sánchez’ no-hitter. However, Leach appeared in just 19 games in the organization last season, and didn’t play in 2026.

Kuhn, 28, didn’t pitch in the Jays organization. Topa pitched in eight games with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons, one fewer outings than Bowman. Fleming is the most notable of the veteran arms to be released, as he had two separates stints on the big league team earlier this season.