Diamondbacks Claim Jesús Sánchez

The Diamondbacks have claimed outfielder Jesús Sánchez off waivers from the Blue Jays, per announcements from both clubs. Toronto had designated him for assignment last week. Arizona had an open 40-man spot after designating Lourdes Gurriel Jr. for assignment in recent days. Sánchez is out of options and will need a spot on the active roster once he reports to the team.

It’s an interesting gambit for the Snakes. Sánchez has shown some potential on both sides of the ball in his career but is not having an amazing year, which is why the Jays let him go. With only two weeks left in the season, the Diamondbacks are hoping to catch lightning in a bottle for just that brief window. Since Sánchez is joining the organization after the September 1 cutoff, he won’t be eligible to play for Arizona in the postseason if they qualify.

As mentioned, Sánchez has flashed potential before. He has never been a superstar but he hit between 13 and 18 home runs in each season from 2021 to 2025. Overall, he took 2,030 plate appearances in that five-year stretch, hitting 73 homers. His 26% strikeout rate was a few ticks higher than normal while his 82.% walk rate was right around par. His combined slash line for that time was .242/.309/.424, leading to a 100 wRC+, or exactly league average.

A left-handed hitter, he has been noticeably better against right-handed pitching in his career. He has .256/.325/.450 line and 112 wRC+ with the platoon advantage, compared to a .178/.228/.279 line and 38 wRC+ without. Defensively, he came into the year with 13 Defensive Runs Saved. The Outs Above Average metric was more modest but still gave him a +1 grade. Sánchez didn’t steal many bases earlier in his career but swiped 29 total over the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

In theory, a player who can hit righties, play competent defense and steal a few bases should be useful. FanGraphs credited him with 5.5 wins above replacement for that 2021 to 2025 period, a bit more than a win per year. That’s what the Jays were hoping to get when they acquired him coming into the season, sending Joey Loperfido back to Houston, but it didn’t pan out. Sánchez is striking out a bit less than usual this year but also drawing fewer walks and also has only eight home runs.

Perhaps most surprising, his defense has suddenly regressed. He has made a few gaffes that certainly failed the eye test and the advanced metrics agree, as he has minus-10 DRS and minus-8 OAA this year. He has stolen just one base, getting caught twice. FanGraphs has pegged him below replacement level for the year.

The Jays decided to move on. Since the trade deadline has passed, they had to put him on waivers. Despite his down year and the fact that he wouldn’t be playoff eligible with a new club, he garnered interest. The Diamondbacks won the claim and Mitch Bannon of The Athletic suggests that at least one other club placed a claim as well.

For the Diamondbacks, they are surely hoping that Sánchez’s past success against righties can return. As a club, they have a .231/.305/.378 slash line against righties this year. That leads to a wRC+ of 88, indicating they have been 12% worse than league average. No club is worse, though the Reds are also at 88.

Arizona started the season with Alek Thomas and Pavin Smith as a couple of notable lefty bats on the roster. Both are having poor seasons and were bumped off the roster this summer. Thomas wound up with the Dodgers while Smith was outrighted to the minors. Switch-hitters Carlos Santana, Ildemaro Vargas and Jorge Barrosa also struggled against righties and Vargas is the only one of that trio still on the roster.

The Snakes have tried various methods for improving the situation. They signed Max Kepler a few months ago and picked up Lars Nootbaar at the trade deadline. Nootbaar has been good but Kepler struggled enough to get released last week. Smith was added back to the roster two days ago after playing well in Triple-A after his outright.

Sánchez will be their latest attempt to try to solve the problem but there isn’t much time. The Diamondbacks have fallen to 2.5 games back of the Padres with just two weeks left in the schedule. Sánchez will jump into the corner outfield mix with Nootbaar and Corbin Carroll. The designated hitter spot is fairly open, so all three could get regular playing time down the stretch.

There’s a notable cost for adding Sánchez, as he is making a $6.8MM salary this year. At this point in the season, there’s just $500K left to be paid out. In a sense, that’s chump change by MLB standards. But considering Sánchez can only play a handful of games and won’t be eligible for the postseason, the Snakes could have just passed. To their credit, they are at least putting some money down and trying to sneak into the playoffs, even if Sánchez wouldn’t then be able to join them. He can be controlled for 2027 via arbitration but he’s likely going to be non-tendered on the heels of this poor season.

For the Jays, they will save more than what the Snakes are taking on. The Jays are set to pay the competitive balance tax for a second consecutive year. Per MLBTR’s Payroll Tracker, they are well over this year’s top threshold of $304MM. They pay a 90% tax rate on spending over that top line, so they will save almost a million bucks with Arizona taking on the rest of the Sánchez deal.