The Blue Jays’ Best Feel-Good Story Comes in the Season’s Final Month
The Blue Jays have needed a positive storyline all year, and the promotion of 12-year minor leaguer Rudy Martin Jr. provides just that.
After coming oh, so close to winning it all last October, the Toronto Blue Jays have come crashing back down to earth this year. Things haven’t looked great, and there are a myriad of reasons behind such a dramatic fall from grace.
At one point, the team had fallen to 10 games under .500 and appeared to be hopelessly out of contention (they had a 4.3% chance at making the playoffs at one point as well). While many of the usual suspects have seen their production fall off of a cliff, the Blue Jays find themselves with a 73-74 record, just a single game under .500 and one game out of the American League’s third wild-card spot.
It’s been a wild year full of a bunch of mostly negative storylines. However, we’re not here to talk about the shortcomings of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer, Max Scherzer, or second-half Ernie Clement. Instead, we’re here to talk about arguably the best feel-good storyline provided by the Blue Jays all year long.
The club waited until the final month of the 2026 regular season to turn it in, but the long-awaited MLB debut of Rudy Martin Jr., along with the corresponding roster move, gives Blue Jays fans something positive to hold on to. Let’s break down what all of Friday’s happenings entail.
Blue Jays Promote Rudy Martin Jr. for MLB Debut
Martin, 30, initially began his pro career back in 2014 when he was drafted in the 25th round by the Kansas City Royals. Notably, that late of a round doesn’t even exist in MLB’s annual draft anymore.
Most followers of the Blue Jays are well aware of this fact, as fan-favorite Davis Schneider was selected in the 28th round in the 2017 draft. While his big league career has seen it’s share of ups and downs, Schneider is proof that success can be found in the late-round picks.
After spending 2014-2021 (and later in both 2025 and 2026) in the Royals organization, Martin suited up for the Washington Nationals org in 2022 before turning to the independent leagues and the Mexican League. For just a few days earlier this year, he was on the Baltimore Orioles’ 40-man roster, but he was DFA’d before getting into a game at any level.
Point being, he’s an extremely well traveled player, and his first look at big league action after 12 years in the minors has been more than earned.
As a player, Martin’s got a quiet but solid skillset. He doesn’t have a whole lot to speak of in the power department (he topped out at 12 home runs for the York Revolution in 2024), but he’s extremely light on his feet and does a solid job at finding his way on base, whether it be from slap singles or drawing walks.
Through 91 minor league games this year split between the Royals and Blue Jays affiliates, Martin hit 11 home runs with 40 RBI, 65 runs scored, 45 stolen bases in 53 attempts, and a 119 wRC+. This is only the second time in his professional career he’s appeared in 90 or more games, and the last time he did it (2019), his wRC+ was all the way down at 58.
Martin swings the bat a ton, but he excels at swinging at hittable pitches, and his 77th percentile Whiff%, mixed with the 70th percentile BB%, is nothing to scoff at.
Defensively, Martin can play all three spots in the outfield and has 30 games in left field, 29 in center, and 22 in right this year in the minor leagues.
In a lot of respects, Martin will bring a similar playing style to the field as Brett Bateman. Both of them are quick on their feet and much more contact-oriented than power-oriented.
The Blue Jays Have Ended the Jesús Sánchez Experiment
To make room for Martin on the 40-man roster and 28-man active roster, the Blue Jays designated fellow outfielder Jesús Sánchez for assignment. The 28-year-old came over to Toronto from the Houston Astros in exchange for Joey Loperfido this past offseason.
Although Sánchez will wrap up his tenure on the Blue Jays with a 105 wRC+ that puts his overall offensive production 5% above average, his time north of the border was far from perfect. Whether it be his complete inability to hit left-handed pitching (-1 wRC+ against LHP this year) or his seemingly endless defensive blunders, Sánchez quickly fell out of favor with Blue Jays fans.
All told, he made it into 99 games and hit eight home runs with 35 RBI, and a .734 OPS, his highest since 2023. This accumulated to an above-average wRC+, but his fWAR came in at -0.2 because of his horrendous play in the outfield corners.
Once considered a decent defender, Sánchez saw his defensive “prowess” fall off a cliff in Toronto, to the point where he was borderline unplayable. It’s possible that he ultimately developed a case of the defensive yips, but his numbers in the grass were just too much to overcome.
- Defensive Runs Saved: -10 (second lowest amongst MLB outfielders, min. 500 innings)
- Outs Above Average: -8 (second lowest amongst MLB outfielders)
- Fielding Run Value: -9 (second lowest amongst MLB outfielders)
With George Springer spending the majority of his time as the Blue Jays’ DH these days, there simply weren’t at-bats with Sánchez’s name on them any longer.
Closing Thoughts
The Blue Jays are calling up a player that’s been waiting 12 long years for his MLB debut, and it’s one of the most positive storylines to come out of the team’s camp this year. While he’s far from a young prospect, Martin brings a Brett Bateman-like approach to the field, and we’ve already seen how a player like Bateman can succeed on this team.
Become a Member of Just Baseball
Subscribe and upgrade to go ad-free!
* Save 25% by subscribing annually.
Written by
Eric Treuden (troy-din) is one of Just Baseball's Managing Editors and Facebook manager. After previous stops at FanSided's news desk, Yardbarker, and Jays Journal, he has…