Barrie has found its new first baseman.
Jake Sanford was traded to the Baycats on Wednesday by the Guelph Royals for cash considerations.
The 29-year-old has not played in a competitive game since May after the second of two Achilles tendon injuries, which came in his first game since joining the Royals from a late offseason trade with the Welland Jackfish.
Sanford, who slotted into Guelph's designated hitter role, was already moving slowly, still recovering from the first injury. It happened during training for the 2026 World Baseball Classic after being named to Canada's 40-man roster.
Just weeks before the start of the 2026 season, he was cleared by doctors to play. However, his tenure with Guelph lasted just two at bats in the team's season opener on May 15 against the Chatham-Kent Barnstormers after he tore his other Achilles tendon.
A standard timetable for a return from Achilles injuries is about 12 months, which will be the case for Sanford between the 2026 and 2027 CBL season openers. That's months longer than the time between his first injury and subsequent, but short-lived, comeback with Guelph.
Despite spending most of his time in the league as an outfielder and designated hitter, he will play most of his time with Barrie at first base, taking over for Nolan Machibroda, who is very unlikely to return to the Baycats.
Sanford comes to the Baycats as an accomplished hitter in the CBL, having won the league's batting title in 2024 with Welland and earning a first-team All-IBL selection. He later won a championship with the Jackfish against Barrie in 2025.
The former New York Yankees prospect is a career .376 hitter across his 46-game CBL career, which includes six home runs and 32 RBI. He also starred for the Canadian national baseball team at the 2023 Pan American Games qualifiers, hitting 7-for-14 with five RBI in four games.
