ANAHEIM -- The trade the Astros made with the Blue Jays in the early days of Spring Training to reacquire outfielder Joey Loperfido and ship outfielder Jesús Sánchez north of the border has been tilted decidedly in the favor of Toronto so far. Sánchez slashed .296/.328/.476 with seven homers in his first 64 games with the Jays.
Loperfido, meanwhile, played in only his 21st game of the season for the Astros in Tuesday’s 10-1 loss at Angel Stadium because of a quad injury he suffered in April. He was called up from Triple-A Sugar Land prior to the game to take the place of veteran outfielder LaMonte Wade Jr., who suffered a significant hamstring strain on Monday in his fourth game in a Houston uniform.
The Astros signed Wade last week with hopes he could help provide an offensive boost to an outfield that’s had among the worst production in baseball. Astros outfielders had a collective .668 OPS entering Tuesday, which was the sixth-worst in MLB. And that number would be worse if it weren’t for designated hitter Yordan Alvarez’s 1.030 OPS he’s posted in 44 plate appearances while in left field.
Loperfido, who was the Astros’ starting left fielder on Opening Day, hopes to be able to fill that offensive void in Houston’s outfield. He was slashing .276/.348/.362 in 20 games to begin the season before suffering a quad injury that cost him nearly two months. Loperfido went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts on Tuesday.
“The human instinct is to want to contribute,” Loperfido said. “I think the best way to go about that is just to play my game and not try to do too much and feel like I have to make an impact by hitting the ball out of the ballpark or doing anything crazy. Just play my game and have good at-bats and let it speak for itself.”
Loperfido, drafted in the seventh round by the Astros out of Duke University in 2021, was in tears when he found out Houston was dealing him to the Blue Jays at the Trade Deadline in 2024. Loperfido and fellow prospects Jake Bloss and Will Wagner -- son of Astros Hall of Fame closer Billy Wagner -- were sent to Toronto for pitcher Yusei Kikuchi.
A year later, the Astros acquired Sánchez at the Trade Deadline from the Marlins, but he struggled in Houston. He slashed .199/.269/.342 with four homers in 48 games and the Astros didn’t want to pay him the $6.8 million he’s owed this year. Houston believed Loperfido’s best years were ahead of him and liked the fact he had five years of club control remaining. Plus, he cut down his strikeout rate by 10 percent from 2024 to 2025, so they dealt Sánchez to bring him back.
“Even before the injury, just more consistent quality of at-bats, using the whole field,” Astros manager Joe Espada said of Loperfido. “We saw some of that in Triple-A during his rehab. The conversation with him when he’s doing well is he’s using the whole field and not trying to do too much and trying to stay in the gaps. Hopefully he continues that trend here.”
The quad injury marked Loperfido’s first time on the injured list as a professional. The Astros took their time with him during his rehab because of how hard he plays, and they wanted to make sure he wasn’t risking reinjury to the leg by coming back too soon.
“It was different,” he said. “It was frustrating, to be honest with you, to not be able to be out there with the guys. Watching from the sidelines is, like, a look that I don't really want to have to experience again. I just did my best to attack the rehab and get back to a spot where I felt like I could be back out on the field and get to a rehab assignment and get moved in the right direction and get feeling good. So happy to be back.”