The Astros have acquired left-handed hitting outfielder Jesús Sánchez from the Marlins. In exchange, Miami has received right-hander Ryan Gusto, infield prospect Chase Jaworsky, and outfield prospect Esmil Valencia. Both teams have announced the trade.
Houston was known to be seeking a left-handed bat ahead of the deadline, to help balance out a lineup that is sorely missing star slugger Yordan Alvarez. Sánchez is no Alvarez, but he has provided the Marlins with above-average power throughout his career, particularly against right-handed pitching. He has hit double-digit home runs in each of the past five seasons, while his career .184 isolated power (ISO) is about 15% better than league average. Mediocre on-base skills and a typically high strikeout rate mean his overall numbers are closer to average (career 100 wRC+), but he has been consistently productive with the platoon advantage. Sánchez has hit 60 of his 69 home runs against right-handers, with a .203 ISO and a 115 wRC+. He has been particularly effective against righties this year, with a career-best 125 wRC+ and a 19.4% strikeout rate. While his 27.6% strikeout rate against southpaws is still quite high, his overall 20.8% strikeout rate is easily the lowest of his career; this is the first year he has ever had a strikeout rate better than the league average.
Sánchez is strictly a platoon bat, with a .178/.226/.284 career slash line against lefties, but that shouldn’t be a problem for the Astros, who rank second in MLB in OPS and wRC+ against left-handed pitching and have enough right-handed hitters that they shouldn’t have any trouble shielding Sánchez from southpaws. However, the only lefties on their active roster right now are Taylor Trammell and Jacob Melton, as well as the switch-hitting Victor Caratini and Cooper Hummel, and they rank among the bottom half of teams in OPS and wRC+ against right-handers. So, it’s not hard to see how Sánchez slots in and improves the lineup. He can take outfield playing time that’s been going to Hummel, Melton, and Trammell, and/or DH reps that have been going to Caratini against right-handed pitching.
In exchange for Sánchez, who is making $4.5MM this year and remains under team control through arbitration through 2027, the Marlins receive a rookie hurler and two position player prospects. According to MLB Pipeline, Jaworsky, 21, is the headliner; they have him ranked as Houston’s no. 13 prospect, while Valencia is no longer on the organizational top 30. Similarly, Baseball America put Jaworsky at no. 22 and did not rank Valencia in their latest update. Most sources agree that Jaworsky projects as a utility infielder with good speed, but a lack of power means he’ll need to improve his plate discipline in order to get enough out of his hit tool. FanGraphs, interestingly, is higher on Valencia (Astros no. 20) than Jaworsky (no. 26). The 19-year-old outfielder seems to have a higher offensive ceiling but carries more risk, in large part due to poor swing decisions. Ultimately, both players project as role players; that’s not too surprising considering Sánchez himself isn’t an everyday player.
As for Gusto, he wasn’t a name that many had an eye on entering the season, but the 26-year-old has been surprisingly effective in his first big league campaign. Through 24 games (14 starts), he has a 4.92 ERA and a much more impressive 3.92 SIERA over 86 innings pitched. He helped the Astros survive a great number of pitching injuries over the first four months of the season, but with Houston looking to add pitching today and hoping to reinstate some arms from the IL soon, Gusto was expendable. He will now be able to help the Marlins fill innings over the remainder of the season, and they’ll have him under team control (with three option years remaining) for another five seasons.
Sánchez heading to the Marlins was first reported by Michael Schwab. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand added that the Marlins would receive Guston in the deal. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported the Marlins would also get back two prospects in exchange for Sánchez. Isaac Azout of Fish on First identified one of the prospects as Jaworsky, while Craig Mish of Sportsgrid identified the other as Valencia.
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