Christmas was rapidly approaching. The day was December 23, 2022. Diamondbacks fans received an early present yet in the process, they also lost one of their most prized possessions. On that day, the Diamondbacks traded Daulton Varsho to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabriel Moreno.
Varsho did a little bit of everything for Arizona. He caught a no-hitter. He was the best fielding outfielder in all of baseball a year ago. He finished with an OPS over .740 in 2021 and 2022, and he could steal bases. Sounds like a complete ball player to me.
That’s why losing him was so difficult. But in return, the Diamondbacks got two very promising players. Let’s take a look at how Varsho is doing with his new squad, the Toronto Blue Jays in 2023.
How Blue Jays Daulton Varsho is performing in 2023
Granted it is a small sample size, but so far Varsho hasn’t entirely found his footing at the plate in Toronto. In 18 games Varsho is striking out in 24% of his at-bats which is considered poor. He also has a batting average of .234 and an OPS of .677. In his last 5 games, he is 2-19 (.105) with 4 strikeouts.
But hey, on the plus side, he has scored 10 times and stolen 3 bases in 18 games. Varsho has also been patient at the plate as he has walked 9 times for a team-leading walk percentage (12%). He has been consistent in the outfield as he has posted an OAA of 0.
A huge reason the Blue Jays traded for Varsho was his defensive prowess. Toronto performed a complete overhaul of their outfield in the offseason, trading Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Teoscar Hernandez who both can make some noise with a bat in their hands, but are both weaker on the defensive side of the game.
In the process the Blue Jays went out and got two of the best defensive outfielders in the MLB; Daulton Varsho and Kevin Kiermaier.
Daulton, we miss you, and we wish you nothing but the best!