The
Toronto Blue Jays made a minor trade deal this past weekend, acquiring infielder
Luis Urias from the Arizona Diamondbacks for cash considerations.
Urias has spent the entire campaign in the Diamondbacks’ farm system after signing a MiLB deal this past winter, and he has an upward mobility clause in his contract. The Dbacks apparently weren’t going to add him to the roster, so they traded him to the Jays instead, who are planning on adding him to the active roster.
Through 32 games this season (he missed some time on the IL), Urias owns a .347/.385/.508 slash line with nine doubles and three home runs with 21 RBIs. Most of that has come in Triple-A outside of 16 at-bats during his rehab assignment in the ACL, and it will be interesting to see how his bat translates back to the Major Leagues. The Mexican product has over 2000+ plate appearances in the big leagues dating back to 2018.
With Urias joining the Jays, this begs the question: who goes when he arrives?
Urias is going to be on the Jays’ bench, that much is certain. Kazuma Okamoto, Andres Gimenez, Ernie Clement, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are the current go-to options for the infield, and Urias isn’t going to get regular reps with these four entrenched on the infield.
That leaves
Yohendrick Pinango, Davis Schneider, and Myles Straw as the likely options to be moved when Urias arrives. And looking at this group, the decision becomes a bit easier.
Both Pinango and Schneider have options available, and they have both spent time in the minor leagues this season.
Pinango began the campaign in Triple-A before injuries saw the Venezuelan product get promoted to the big leagues, and the left-handed bat has been putting together strong results with the Jays. Across 43 games, he owns a .283/.331/.433 slash line with a .764 OPS, collecting seven doubles and four home runs. Pinango has been on a slump through his past seven games (just two hits through 18 at-bats), and his outfield defence has been an issue at times, so there is a chance he goes back to Triple-A to get things sorted out.
Schneider struggled mightily to begin the 2026 season and saw himself back in Buffalo by the end of May to figure things out away from the bright lights of the Rogers Centre. He returned to the active roster in mid-June, and since then, he’s put forward some much stronger at-bats. Across 20 AB’s and playing sparingly off the bench, he has six hits – four of which are for extra bases – and owns a .700 SLG and a 1.033 OPS through the small sample. Schneider can also play second base and the outfield, providing a bit more versatility for manager John Schnieder compared to Pinango and his corner outfield split.
The easy business decision makes it likely that either Pinango or Schneider are going to get optioned back to Buffalo, and if recent metrics are any indicator, it is likely Pinango heading back to the Bisons.
Schneider is older and doesn’t need more development, and he works well as a bench player for the rest of the season, while also being able to play more positions than his counterpart. The Jays are adding Urias to give the bench some more infield flexibility, and it may all be a moot point in the coming weeks anyway.
Addison Barger is slated to begin a rehab assignment in the coming weeks, and he’s going to need a roster spot sooner than later as well.
This likely means that Urias and Pinango/Schneider (whoever remains) are battling for a roster spot moving forward, with the loser being optioned or DFA’d (in Urias case). Barger is an outfielder by trade now; however, he can play third base as needed when Kazuma Okamoto needs a day off. The Jays can also move Clement around as needed, with Schneider able to play second base as well, so there is no guarantee that Urias is around for the long haul.
The Jays will also likely have to cut Lenyn Sosa loose when he is healthy if they want to keep Urias around, unless the Jays decide to part with one of their outfielders in Straw, Nathan Lukes, or Jesus Sanchez, which seems less than likely.
Whatever the case may be, somebody is getting optioned in the near future when Urias arrives in town. Who that player will be is still to be determined, and the Jays have an open roster spot to add the former Diamondback without cutting anybody from the 40-man, but the lineup should look a bit different this week when Urias finally touches down in Toronto.
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