Diamondbacks To Designate Jesus Sanchez For Assignment

The Diamondbacks will designate outfielder Jesus Sanchez for assignment prior to today’s game with the Padres, Arizona manager Torey Lovullo told MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert and other reporters following Friday’s 11-4 Snakes victory.  The roster move creates space to allow for the call-up of a catcher, as Gabriel Moreno made an early exit Friday due to what Lovullo described as a “tender” left hamstring.

Moreno’s injury doesn’t appear to be too serious, as Lovullo said the plan is for Moreno to play today as the designated hitter.  On Friday, Moreno scored from first base on Geraldo Perdomo’s bases-clearing double in the top of the sixth inning, but was then replaced at catcher by James McCann before the bottom of the seventh got underway.

McCann will presumably start today’s game behind the plate, while the incoming Triple-A catcher will act as McCann’s backup.  Gilbert assumes Adrian Del Castillo will be the call-up, and while Del Castillo is already on the 40-man roster, Sanchez may have been superfluous as basically a DH-only player whose role will now be filled by Moreno.  Because Sanchez was claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays less than two weeks ago, he already wouldn’t have been eligible for a postseason roster if the D’Backs manage to squeak into the playoffs.

A six-game winning streak has kept the Snakes’ hopes alive, as Arizona now sits a game behind the Phillies for the final NL wild card berth.  The D’Backs also hold the tiebreaker over Philadelphia, adding to the September drama.  Given the circumstances, the Diamondbacks can only hope that Moreno (one of the team’s top bats) is able to at least hit up to his usual standard heading into the final two games of the regular season.

Sanchez has only two hits in his 16 PA in an Arizona uniform, so he has done little to improve the Diamondbacks’ team-wide struggles against right-handed pitching.  The lack of production with the Snakes drops Sanchez to a 99 wRC+ for the season as a whole, as he had a 105 wRC+ and a .260/.318/.416 slash line in 299 PA for Toronto.

Most of Sanchez’s success with the Jays came early in the season, and he has hit only .168/.279/.253 over his last 111 trips to the plate with both Toronto and Arizona.  He also missed about a month due to a sprained right ankle, and struggled badly from a defensive standpoint in the Blue Jays’ outfield.  It was enough for the Jays to DFA Sanchez earlier this month, and the Diamondbacks made a flier of a waiver claim in the hopes that Sanchez could be sparked by a change of scenery.

With just two games remaining in the regular season, Sanchez obviously won’t be claimed again.  He’ll very likely be released once he clears waivers, as while Sanchez will be arbitration-eligible for the third and final time this winter, Arizona surely aren’t eager to give him a raise on his $6.8MM salary for 2026.  Sanchez will get an early jump on free agency, and may be limited to just minor league offers as he tries to rebound from his rough season.