The Blue Jays announced that they had acquired an outfielder Dalton Farshaw from Diamondbacks. Going the other way will draw attention Gabriel Moreno And a defensive player Lourdes Gurriel Jr..
For the Blue Jays, they have always been looking to add a left-handed component to their right-handed heavyweight lineup. They were rumored willing to deal with their catch surplus in order to tackle the other areas on their list. With Danny JansenAnd the Alejandro Kirk and Moreno vying for playing time, it looks like they’ll use one of them to arrange a deal with the team in need. Meanwhile, the Diamondbacks have drawn a lot commercial interest This is off season on their multiplayer. Corbin CarrollAnd the Alec ThomasAnd the Jake McCarthy Varshaw is all left-handed and has different traits, but he created a predicament that many expected to remove by trade. Given these factors, the two teams were often set up for speculative business partners, which paid off with this deal.
Varshaw, 26, was a top 100 prospect in the minors and made his debut with the Diamondbacks in 2020. Although he was primarily a player, his natural athleticism has led him to an outfield role lately. It was mentioned Towards the end of the 2022 campaign, the Diamondbacks were so impressed with his work on the field that they were planning to keep him there in the future. This was a fairly reasonable conclusion to tie given his excellent defensive scores on the turf. He had +19 points defense saved on the court this year, along with an 18.8 absolute zone rating and 17 points above average. All three of those numbers were the leading all MLB players this year, with DRS tied for Michael A. Taylor. Varshaw has seen time in all three positions in his time in the major leagues so far, which has given the Jays a lot of flexibility in how he fits into their alliance alignment.
adding that the Blue Jays have largely focused on blocking runs this season Chris Bassett to take turns, Eric Swanson to their defense and defense specialists Kevin Kiermayer to outside them. Now with Varsho, they’ve continued that run blocking trajectory by adding Defensive Player of the Year for 2022. However, Varsho isn’t just about being a contributor alone. He hit 27 home runs this year and stole 16 bases. He finished the season with a .235/.302/.443 hitting streak, good enough for wRC+106, indicating that he was 6% above the league average. Combined, those contributions amounted to 4.6 wins above replacement for the year, FanGraphs calculates.
This move, and their other moves in this offseason, led to Gurriel’s right Teuscar Hernandez They were replaced by Kiermayer and Varshaw left. Gurriel and Hernandez are more productive at the plate but are both generally considered sub-par defenders, while Kiermaier and Varsho are generally opposites, although Varsho has taken a huge step forward at the plate this year. Farshaw and Kiermeyer should get into an outdoor mix that also includes George Springer And the Whit Merrifield. While last year’s alignment saw Springer as the top defensive option, along with a couple of his teammates, he now appears to be the third best defender in Toronto’s homefield mix.
For the Diamondbacks, they command one of the best prospects in the sport, regardless of position, but certainly one of the best striking prospects. Moreno, Feb. 23 Considered the game’s No. 3 potential player by both baseball america And the fangrafs. He made his MLB debut in 2022 and carried himself well in his first 73 plate appearances, hitting .319/.356/.377 for wRC+ of 113. He spent most of the year at Triple-A, hitting .315/. 386/.420 in a wRC+ of 120. Although the strength part of his game may be missing, all reports indicate that he is an excellent fullback with putt skills. This is evidenced by his 16.9% strikeout rate in Triple-A this year and 11% average in his MLB debut.
Use the club Carson Kelly, 28, as a primary catcher over the past four seasons, which has proven inconsistent in that time. Both the 2019 and 2021 seasons were above average at the plate, hitting double-digit home runs and walk averages, resulting in a WRC+ of 107 in the former and 103 in the latter. However, the 2020 and 2022 seasons were on the low side, with walks and power both declining. He posted a WRC+ 70 in 2020 and just 73 in 2022. Defensively, he’s generally considered mediocre, with DRS rating him at absolutely zero so far in his career.
Kelly still has two years of refereeing control left and likely has the eye-catching job of the moment, given Moreno’s youth and limited experience. Moreno will also need some time to get to know the Arizona pitching staff. But as Moreno continues to develop, Kelly will likely be pressed in time and become a trading chip himself before it hits the open market.
Since they subtract left-handers, the Diamondbacks bring in right-handers to add more balance to Gurriel. The 29-year-old has spent the past five seasons with the Jays and has a career hitting streak of .285/.329/.468 and a WRC+ of 115. He didn’t come away with a noticeable platoon split, as he even did 115 wRC+ against both righties and lefties. This makes him perfectly capable of playing with snakes every day. He’s in his final year of control before becoming a free agent, which doesn’t make him a long-term solution in the desert, but should give the club some time to continue evaluating young players like Carroll and Thomas. If those younger players take steps forward and control day jobs and/or the Diamondbacks aren’t in contention in the middle of 2023, Gurriel would make an interesting trade candidate.
Defensively, Juriel broke in as a fielder, but moved to left field in 2019 and has pretty much been there since, save for an occasional role at first base. Comments about his glove work are mixed, as he has a +4 in pitch from the DRS, but a -4.7 from the UZR and -16 from the OAA. This limits his contributions somewhat but his at-bat has been above average in each of his five seasons so far.
Financially, the Jays will save a little money in this deal as Gurriel will make $5.4 million in 2023, his last year before free agency. Meanwhile, Varshaw has four years left of control but qualified for arbitration this winter as a Super Two player. He just yelled at it, as his two-year, 128-day tenure is an exact match for cut this year. He is expected to earn a salary of $2.8 million MLBTR contributor Matt Schwartz He will take three more ARB raises through 2026. Meanwhile, Moreno has yet to reach arbitration with just two months of time in the major leagues so far, giving the Diamondbacks six more years of control over his services.
The slight financial difference wouldn’t matter too much to the Diamondbacks but could have repercussions for the Jays. list resource He currently pegs the club’s competitive balance tax figure as just a hair above the minimum luxury tax of $233 million. These numbers are unofficial and will certainly change with future movements throughout the season and during the actual season. Arbitration salaries are also just estimates and will have an effect on the count once fixed. But if the Jays continue to hover around the luxury tax line, small savings could determine which side of that line they end up on.
In the end, both clubs responded to their needs by dealing from positions of strength. The Jays got an all-around player in Varsho who can help them this year and in the future. In order to do so, they put up their potential capital and fished out the excess, as well as dealt with an imminent free agent in Gurriel. For the Diamondbacks, they’ve fielded a solid contributor but still have to get by without him, and they’ve also loaded their farm for future success. They now have four of the top 20 prospects in baseball, with Moreno third in the baseball americafollowed by Carroll at No. 5, shortstop Jordan Lawler at #11 and outfielder Drew Jones at #19.
John Heyman from the New York Post It first reported that the Jays were about to land Varshaw. ESPN’s Jeff Bassin I first reported that there was a deal in place involving Farshaw and Moreno. Bob Nightingale from USA Today He was the first to implicate Gurriel.
Photos provided by USA Today Sports.
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