Blue Jays Pull Surprise Move With DFA of Veteran Slugger, Call Up Career Minor Leaguer

The Toronto Blue Jays finally said, 'enough is enough.' It had gotten to the point where the defense was so bad, he was just unplayable from here on out. So with that, outfielder Jesus Sanchez has been designated for assignment. 

News: The #BlueJays have DFA’d Jesús Sánchez

OF Rudy Martin Jr. joins the club to take his spot.

— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) September 11, 2026

Sanchez was brought in to add some power to a lineup that truly needs some (especially with the complete power outage from Vladimir Guerrero Jr.). But power or no power (and Sanchez only provided eight home runs and a .734 OPS), his play in left field made it completely untenable to play him anymore down the stretch in a chase for a playoff spot. 

The #BlueJays can't have Jesús Sánchez's defence in the outfield at this point. They're running the risk that one of them will flip a key game.

This extended the inning on Spencer Arrighetti when he'd earned the quick 1-2-3. pic.twitter.com/eULzPsKNC8

— Keegan Matheson (@KeeganMatheson) September 6, 2026

Even his teammates couldn't hold back their outrage over Sanchez's defensive miscues. Mad Max certainly couldn't: 

Max Scherzer did not hide his rage after Jesus Sanchez failed to track down this fly ball with the bases loaded pic.twitter.com/JMGNuuiquK

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 20, 2026

The 28-year-old Sanchez slashed .260/.318/.416 with a 101 OPS+. Not terrible by any means, but certainly not enough to warrant putting him out there with the risk of a critical error down the stretch. 

He acquired in a trade with the Houston Astros in the off-season, for Joey Loperfido.

Rudy Martin Jr. has been called up in his place, and while he won't start much in the outfield, he certainly can provide some speed off the bench. The 30-year-old has stolen 45 bases this season in AA and AAA with a respectable .274 average and a much more than respectable .396 on-base percentage. 

This will be Martin's first trip to the majors after toiling away in the minors for 12 years. An exciting day for the Memphis native, who has also played in Independent Leagues as well as the Mexican League. He finally gets his shot at The Show.