Revisiting The Daulton Varsho Trade
I don’t know who needs to hear this but… Daulton Varsho stinks. The karma gods are very real and it’s fascinating that Varsho struck out on three straight pitches to end the Blue Jay season.
Varsho’s shortcomings aren’t the only reason why Toronto failed to win a postseason series. However, you can’t help but think about how this trade has turned out for the Jays now that we’re a year in.
When you look back at this trade, Toronto acquired Varsho for Lourdes Gurriel and Gabriel Moreno. I hated this trade at the time and it looks even worse a year from now.
Moreno thrived in his first full season at the MLB level with Arizona. Moreno slashed .284/.339/.408 with an OPS+ of 104. Say whatever you want but those are really good offensive numbers for a catcher. Moreno is still just 23 and was once viewed as a heralded prospect and was listed as a breakout candidate for a reason.
Can you imagine if the Jays never make this deal and they just paired Alejandro Kirk with Moreno…
Why didn’t they do that again?
That part alone makes Toronto a loser in this deal. The Jays gave up a real catcher for a fake catcher that doesn’t really play catcher. In fairness, Varsho is a quality defender in the outfielder. I’m just not sure it matters if the guy doesn’t hit. Varsho hit .220 this year with an OPS+ of 85 in 527 at-bats. It’s just not good enough.
Gurriel was damn good this year too. Gurriel has always been able to hit and notched a career high 24 homers with extended playing time. Furthermore, I’m not sure Arizona is in the playoffs without making this deal.
At some point, you have to question the evaluators in Toronto. The Mark Shapiro and Mark Atkins group never won anything in Cleveland. Why should we keep giving them chances with a sneaky market in Canada? Their manager sucks and this team has failed to maximize the stars they inherited. At some point, changes need to be made and it starts with them.
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