Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider reacted after outfielder Jesus Sanchez had costly misplays against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.
The Blue Jays, who are fighting for their playoff lives right now, lost 7-6 to the Rays on Wednesday night at Tropicana Field in what was a missed opportunity to pick up a much-needed win.
One of the reasons the Blue Jays lost the game — maybe even the main reason they lost — was because of Sanchez, the team’s left fielder, who made two bad plays in left field that let several runs score when he could have made two catches to stop the bleeding.
The first one was a fly ball hit by Rays third baseman Junior Caminero deep to the left-field corner, which Sanchez did not catch and which dropped down and bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double after video review.
To make matters worse, Rays designated hitter Yandy Diaz crushed a home run two batters later, to make it 2-0 Rays.
The Blue Jays then got the game back to 2-1, but in the fourth inning, with the bases loaded, Rays second baseman Richie Palacios hit a routine fly ball to left field, which Sanchez did not track and which dropped down for a double, leading to two runs scoring and the score getting to 4-1.
Watch the Sanchez blunder here, and see the reaction of Blue Jays starter Max Scherzer, who was rightfully livid with his left fielder’s poor defensive effort.
The inning would continue after that Sanchez error and get to 7-1 Rays before Scherzer’s night was over. The Blue Jays did claw back and get the game to 7-6, but it was not enough, and they lost the game, dropping to 62-66 on the year.
John Schneider Reacts to Jesus Sanchez Misplays
Speaking to Blue Jays reporters following the game, Schneider shared his reaction to the two misplays that Sanchez made, which arguably cost his team the ballgame.
“The first one was weird, looked like it went over the catwalk a little bit. If you take your eye off the ball here it’s tough to regather it or where you are. Kind of looked like he took his eye off it on the first one and it’s tough to find it after that,” Schneider said (via Mitch Bannon on X).
“The second one, I haven’t talked to him yet about it, but looked like a weird play coming in. I’m sure it’s a play he would have liked to have made. You’re sitting there two outs and Walls up in a 2-1 game, so you take your chances. But it looked like, again, kind of didn’t see it or saw it and then didn’t see it.”
What Will Toronto Do With Jesus Sanchez?
The Blue Jays traded Joey Loperfido to the Houston Astros during the offseason for Sanchez, as they hoped he could be a power bat who could help pick up the slack with Anthony Santander out at the start of the season (he is still out and may not return this year).
But Sanchez has proven to be a clunky fit for Toronto, as he has been absolutely atrocious in the outfield for the team.
His bat has been decent, as he’s hit .260 with 8 home runs and 33 RBIs and a .741 OPS, which is actually among the highest on the team, due to the Blue Jays’ lineup’s inability to slug this season.
But his defense has been so bad that Toronto may be forced to use him strictly as a pinch hitter or a DH going forward, because he is too much of a liability in the outfield.
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