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30+ games appearing at C & 90+ in OF in a season:
2022 Daulton Varsho
2002 Eli Marrero
1975 Gary Carter
1968 Curt Blefary
1892 Jack O’Connor— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) December 23, 2022
nn”,”providerName”:”Twitter”,”providerUrl”:”https://twitter.com”,”type”:”rich”,”width”:550,”__typename”:”ExternalEmbedContent”},”$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({“locale”:”en-us”,”slug”:”daulton-varsho-traded-to-blue-jays”,”type”:”story”}).parts.6″:{“data”:{“type”:”id”,”generated”:true,”id”:”$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({“locale”:”en-us”,”slug”:”daulton-varsho-traded-to-blue-jays”,”type”:”story”}).parts.6.data”,”typename”:”ExternalEmbedContent”},”type”:”oembed”,”__typename”:”ExternalEmbed”},”$ROOT_QUERY.getForgeContentBySlug({“locale”:”en-us”,”slug”:”daulton-varsho-traded-to-blue-jays”,”type”:”story”}).parts.7″:{“content”:”This will provide plenty of value at the most difficult position in baseball, physically. Jansen and Kirk missed time in 2022, and if that happens again, Toronto will have the option to slide Varsho in as the backup, a rare luxury. You can still expect the Blue Jays to sign a veteran catcher on a Minor League deal, though, to have waiting at Triple-A Buffalo as insurance.nnWhere this deal gets even more interesting — and expensive — is the inclusion of Gurriel. The Cuban left fielder has battled injuries throughout his career in Toronto, including a left wrist injury that cut his power numbers down in 2022, but he is still a .285 hitter with a .797 OPS and the potential for more. Gurriel is due to hit free agency following the ’23 season, but after the Blue Jays traded Teoscar Hernández to the Mariners for
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8 minutes ago
TORONTO — The Blue Jays did some last-minute Christmas shopping Friday, agreeing to a deal to acquire outfielder Daulton Varsho from the D-backs for catcher Gabriel Moreno and outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
This is a major move for the Blue Jays, who have coveted a lefty-hitting outfielder as the one missing piece to their offseason, and the price reflects just how significant this is.
Moreno was Toronto’s No. 1 prospect entering 2022 and a Top 10 prospect in Major League Baseball, blending exceptional athleticism behind the plate with significant offensive upside to create a catcher who fits the modern game beautifully. The 22-year-old Venezuelan made his MLB debut in ’22, hitting .319 with a .733 OPS over 25 games.
Toronto’s catching position was a game of musical chairs, though, with Danny Jansen coming off a strong season and Alejandro Kirk an All-Star.
Varsho, who is 26 and comes with four years of team control, fits what the Blue Jays were looking for down to every letter. And with offensive upside potentially sitting atop his defensive excellence, he could quickly become another cornerstone of this organization.
Coming up as a Top 100 prospect himself, Varsho debuted in 2020 and is now fresh off his first full-season workload, hitting .235 with 27 home runs and a .745 OPS over 151 games for Arizona. There’s a speed element, too, with 16 stolen bases last season.
Where Varsho really shines, though, is in the field. Last season, his 18 Outs Above Average led all MLB outfielders and ranked fourth among all positions. Varsho brings truly elite defensive potential, and paired in an outfield alongside Kevin Kiermaier and George Springer, this Blue Jays defense suddenly has a dramatically different look.
The real kicker? Varsho catches, too.
In 2022, Varsho started 18 games behind the plate and was back there for 37 starts the year prior. “Unique” barely scratches the surface of his defensive profile, as he’s one of just five players in MLB history to appear in 30-plus games behind the plate and 90-plus in the outfield in one season.
This will provide plenty of value at the most difficult position in baseball, physically. Jansen and Kirk missed time in 2022, and if that happens again, Toronto will have the option to slide Varsho in as the backup, a rare luxury. You can still expect the Blue Jays to sign a veteran catcher on a Minor League deal, though, to have waiting at Triple-A Buffalo as insurance.
Where this deal gets even more interesting — and expensive — is the inclusion of Gurriel. The Cuban left fielder has battled injuries throughout his career in Toronto, including a left wrist injury that cut his power numbers down in 2022, but he is still a .285 hitter with a .797 OPS and the potential for more. Gurriel is due to hit free agency following the ’23 season, but after the Blue Jays traded Teoscar Hernández to the Mariners for Erik Swanson, a move involving Gurriel wasn’t expected so soon.
This likely also leaves the door open to another move. Now that Toronto has acquired its long-coveted lefty bat, the club still needs a capable fourth outfielder who can spell Varsho, Kiermaier and Springer. In Varsho’s case, he may be needed behind the plate and the Blue Jays may want to keep him away from certain lefties. Kiermaier and Springer have injury histories, too, so even after two major outfield moves, Toronto isn’t done just yet.
This is a big swing for the Blue Jays, and with that comes great risk. Part of the deal when you trade a top prospect is watching on, nervously and from afar, for the next decade. Moreno has all the ability to become a perennial All-Star.
In Varsho, though, Toronto checks off the one glaring box left on its list. Varsho aligns with the competitive window the Blue Jays now have wide open, and since this didn’t cost any cash, they can now shift their focus back to free agency to make the final touches to what is, on paper, a stacked roster.