The Blue Jays Must Stick to Jesús Sánchez’s Strengths

The Toronto Blue Jays have recently surged their way back into AL Wild Card contention thanks to some amazing efforts from star players like Dylan Cease and Alejandro Kirk. While they’ve been getting quality production on all sides of the ball from many of their key contributors, some of their depth options have been lacking as of late.

In particular, Jesús Sánchez has gained some disdain from Blue Jays fans due to his poor defense and recent struggles at the plate. Sánchez clearly has his strengths, as we’ve known for quite some time, and he certainly has his weaknesses. He has a clear role that he can thrive in, but team injuries have forced him into rather uncomfortable circumstances this season.

Sánchez is a power-hitting left-handed batter who has always found the vast majority of his success against right-handed pitching, tunneling him into a platoon role for nearly his entire career. Even though he’s shown those same strengths this season, they’ve become overshadowed at times by his shortcomings.

In order for the Blue Jays to receive the full talent that Sánchez has to offer, they need to let him stick to what he knows best and can find the most success doing. There are a few ways they can do so, but they need to act quickly, as the regular season comes to an end in just a few weeks.

The Platoon Archetype

A platoon hitter is a batter who almost exclusively finds success against one handedness of pitcher, and nearly always hits with the opposite dominant hand of the opposing pitcher. Sánchez is a prime example of this category of hitter, and the Blue Jays knew this when acquiring him over the offseason. He has been a much better hitter against right-handed pitchers for the entirety of his career.

Entering play on Sunday, 82.6% of Sánchez’s 2,352 career plate appearances, 88.8% of his 81 career home runs, and 86.6% of his 515 career hits had come off right-handed pitchers. This illustrates not only his level of relative success against righties as opposed to lefties, but the much healthier sample that he has had in these favourable matchups.

He’s established himself as a solid platoon hitter, but he hasn’t found the same success in this role in 2026 as he has in previous seasons. Whereas he’s at times been one of the most fearsome left-handed bats in his teams’ lineups when facing a right-handed pitcher, he’s not been as prominent in that way this season as before.

In every season of his career in which he’s appeared in more than 10 games, Sánchez has an OPS of at least .735 against righties and has only once failed to record double-digit home runs against them. The only such season in which he hasn’t reached that mark is this year in 2026.

Defensive Concerns

Sánches has always been primarily known for his bat, and never for his defensive prowess. This is because he has always been simply an average outfielder, but this season he’s garnered a lot more boos from fans for his defensive woes.

This may not necessarily be because Sánchez is performing worse than he’s historically been in the outfield, but rather because he’s getting too much playing time in uncomfortable situations.

Prior to the 2026 season, Sánchez hadn’t ever recorded a season with a negative FRV (Fielding Run Value). This year, he has a -9 FRV, along with -8 OAA. He’s having the worst defensive season of his career. He’s also posted the slowest average sprint speed of his entire career at 26.4 ft/s, making for a troublesome combination in the outfield.

This year, the Blue Jays have played Sánchez in a career-high 43 games in left field, and for the first time in his career, he’s played more games in left field than any other position. Typically, his primary position has been right field.

His arm strength has always ranked in the top 25% of MLB outfielders, making him a prime asset in right field, but because the Blue Jays entered the season with an excess of outfield options, he’s been forced into a new position.

With George Springer’s regular occupation of Toronto’s designated hitter spot, Sánchez is finding himself stuck between a rock and a hard place in 2026 as he tries to find consistent starting time on a surging squad.

With outfielders like Brett Bateman, Myles Straw, and Nathan Lukes performing excellently in recent weeks, Sánchez might be relegated to a bench role, but that might not be the worst thing for him.

What Role Should Sánchez Have Going Forward?

Sánchez is in a sticky situation with the Jays this season, and it’s a little confusing as to where they can use him to maximize his value, but there’s plenty of potential there.

For instance, manager John Schneider recently started him in left field on September 3 against the Guardians, and after he collected a hit and an RBI in three plate appearances, he was lifted from the game in favour of Straw with a 5-1 lead in the fourth inning.

In this example, Toronto got to use Sánchez for three at-bats against right-handed pitching, and he even drove in a run. After getting a solid sample of his offense and realizing that a four-run lead would likely stand strong with José Soriano starting, the Blue Jays opted to get Straw’s superior speed and defense in the lineup and on the field.

This half-game role could end up being the key to Sánchez’s success with the Blue Jays over the remainder of the season, but they could also opt to use him as a pinch-hitter against right-handers. He has a career .768 OPS as a pinch-hitter, and the Jays might be better off using him in advantageous plate appearances against righty relievers.

Such a role could prevent the Jays from having to deal with his problematic defense and only reap the rewards of his offensive potential.

Sánchez has a lot to give this team, even if his eight home runs this year are the lowest he’s ever recorded in a full MLB season. He might not be a full-time starter, but Toronto will still get a lot of value from utilizing his skill set in a much more advantageous manner.

Closing Thoughts

Jesús Sánchez has been a serviceable option for the Toronto Blue Jays this season, and there’s plenty of reason to believe that he’s not reached his full potential for them. That’s due to his playing an unfamiliar defensive position and a lack of room for him to play to his strengths consistently.

Especially with Springer needing the Jays’ DH spot, Sánchez has not only been forced into a starting role in the outfield, but he’s had to adapt to playing left field more often as a result of a stacked Toronto outfield. The Blue Jays need to stick to playing Sánchez in advantageous circumstances, including limiting his time in the outfield and maximizing the amount of value they can siphon from his bat on a regular basis.

Whether this is through using him as a late-game pinch-hitting option off the bench or pulling him early from games for Myles Straw as a defensive replacement, Sánchez still has plenty of value to bring to the Blue Jays, and he can certainly be an important piece for them going forward.