Jesús Sánchez is gone from Toronto's roster, and manager John Schneider made clear the Blue Jays reached a breaking point.

Toronto designated Sánchez for assignment Friday and selected the contract of outfielder Rudy Martin Jr., ending Sánchez's Blue Jays run less than a full season after acquiring him from Houston.

Schneider's explanation centered on what never developed. The Blue Jays brought Sánchez in for his bat speed and raw power, but the expected slugging impact never became consistent production.

“It was weird,” Schneider said. “It started off on track to what we expected. The slug just didn't show up.”

Sánchez still hit the ball hard, but Toronto needed more than flashes. He batted .260 across 99 games, and the power output never became large enough to offset the other parts of his game.

That became a bigger problem because the defensive mistakes kept showing up. Sánchez committed 3 errors, and other misplays in the outfield weren't always charged on the scoreboard.

Schneider also pointed to a drop in Sánchez's athleticism, saying he wasn't moving the same way either running or in the batter's box. Toronto kept searching for an adjustment, but nothing stuck.

Blue Jays ran out of reasons to wait

The timing matters. Toronto entered Friday 1 game behind Cleveland for the final American League Wild Card spot, with only 15 regular-season games remaining. This wasn't a move made with patience in mind.

Schneider's comments showed how thin Sánchez's margin had become. If the power had carried more weight, Toronto could have lived with some defensive shortcomings. If the glove had stabilized, the club could have tolerated less slug.

Instead, neither side of the equation gave the Blue Jays enough reason to keep waiting. Schneider admitted the staff felt responsible too, saying coaches always feel they've failed a player when they can't help him get over the hump.

Sánchez finished his Toronto stint with 8 home runs and 35 RBI. Those numbers didn't match what the Blue Jays expected when they traded Joey Loperfido to Houston for him in February.

The roster spot now belongs to Martin, whose call-up comes after 12 seasons in professional baseball. Toronto is choosing a new option rather than continuing to wait for Sánchez's upside to surface.

Schneider's message was direct: hard contact and bat speed weren't enough anymore. The Blue Jays needed power, defence or both. Sánchez wasn't giving them enough of either, and a playoff race left no room for more evaluation.