It’s not every day that a former 20-home-run hitter becomes available for a low-level outfield prospect and a player-to-be-named-later or cash considerations.

Amidst an early-season slew of injuries, the Toronto Blue Jays struck a deal with the Chicago White Sox earlier this week to acquire out-of-options infielder Lenyn Sosa, hoping to supply a bit of short-term thump in the absence of George Springer, Addison Barger and Alejandro Kirk. It’s one of those low-risk, high-reward gambles in an attempt to capture lightning in a bottle.

While Sosa’s Blue Jays tenure is only three games old, the 26-year-old is already showing early flashes of the approach that led to his 22 home-run, 75-RBI career year campaign across 140 games with the White Sox last season.

The right-handed-hitting infielder, who’s collected three hits in eight plate appearances without walking or striking out once post-trade thus far, has already come within a few feet of blasting his first home run of 2026 (he had zero in 12 games with Chicago before being dealt) not once, but twice since joining Toronto’s lineup.

Sosa’s first near-miss occurred in the seventh inning of Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, as his 363-foot flyball (99.9-m.p.h. exit velocity) off left-hander DL Hall was caught up against the left-field wall — a flyout that would’ve left the yard at nearly half of the sport’s 30 ballparks, including Rogers Centre.

Source: Baseball SavantThe next day, Thursday’s series finale in Milwaukee, Sosa’s second near-miss came on a 104.4-m.p.h. liner — his hardest-hit ball as a Blue Jay — that bounced out of play in centre for a ground-rule double and the first extra-base hit with his new team. Technically, Baseball Savant declared it wouldn’t have been a home run at any of MLB’s 30 parks, as it touched down 376 feet from home plate to straightaway centre.

However, that batted ball still had the makings of leaving the yard, considering it’s the first pitch he’s barrelled up this season.

It’s worth noting that Sosa posted career-highs with his hard-hit (43.8 per cent) and barrel rates (10.4 per cent) a season ago, both of which ranked slightly above league average. That isn’t where most of his power came from, though. Instead, it was maximizing his launch angles, resulting in a 90th-percentile launch-angle sweet-spot rate (39.2 per cent), and pulling more fly balls and line drives than he ever had before, which led to a career-high pull air rate (20 per cent) at the time.

Through 15 combined games this season, Sosa appears to have doubled down on that approach out of the gate, improving both metrics to a 44.1 per cent LA sweet-spot rate — currently ranked in the 91st percentile of the majors — and a 23.5 per cent pull air rate.

Thus, it’s no coincidence that of the 34 balls he’s put in play, almost half have resulted in fly balls. And for someone who doesn’t possess elite quality-of-contact metrics, leaning on a pull-heavy approach with this type of batted-ball output is typically the best recipe for hitting home runs, as Sosa discovered during his breakout 2025 campaign.

For now, opportunities shouldn’t be too hard to come by, even for a well below-average defender like Sosa. The Blue Jays started him at second base during each of the final two games against the Brewers, and his power upside should continue to earn him at-bats in the infield and as the designated hitter — until Springer returns, that is, which could happen at the start of next week’s homestand.

How Sosa fits into this struggling lineup’s long-term plans remains unclear, as Springer and Barger’s eventual returns don’t appear too far away and will necessitate multiple roster moves. That could end up forcing the former White Sox out of the mix and onto the waiver wire, since he can’t be assigned to the minors without first passing through unclaimed.

But there’s still an opportunity for him to help the Blue Jays’ offence, which has been held to just two runs in as many days entering Friday’s series opener versus the Arizona Diamondbacks, even if it’s simply as a lightning-in-the-bottle surge.

Off The Roster is Toronto sports. Hosted by Cabbie Richards, Lindsay Dunn, and Dan Riccio, this is the go-to morning conversation for everything happening in the 6ix – Hockey, Baseball, Basketball and everything in between. From breakout performances and questionable trades to throwback jerseys, viral moments, and the stories fans are actually talking about—it’s smart, sharp, and never scripted. Live weekday mornings on the Nation Network YouTube channel and available wherever you stream podcasts, the show delivers real opinions, real chemistry, and real Toronto energy. Missed an episode? Catch up anytime. Off The Roster—The new sound of the 6ix.