On Friday evening, the Toronto Blue Jays and Arizona Diamondbacks finalized a trade that would send Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabriel Moreno to the desert and Daulton Varsho north of the border.
Jays fans have been divided so far, understandably so, on where they stand with the trade.
Some love it, saying the outfield defense is now elite and Varsho’s production comes closer to Teoscar Hernández’s from last season.
Then there are the others, who hate the deal because Gurriel and Moreno, who is the No. 1 prospect in the Blue Jays’ system and the No. 1 prospect behind the plate in all of baseball.
To that, I’d say let’s be patient and see how this deal pans out in the long run. Varsho is much more of an immediate, win-now type of player while prospects like Moreno are not always guaranteed to work out. Additionally, Gurriel was on an expiring contract and let’s face it, was moveable.
MLB.com’s Will Leitch wrote a piece on the top surprising breakouts of 2022, with Alek Manoah making the list.
Manoah, 24 (25 in a few weeks), was absolutely dominant on the mound last year and brought a sense of swagger and looseness to the entire club every time he took the field.
In 31 starts last season, the big right-hander was 16-7 with a 2.24 ERA and 174 ERA+, meaning he was 74 percent above league-average last season.
Carlos Correa’s contract with the New York Mets is now in jeopardy thanks to…you guessed it, an issue with his physical.
The Giants signed Taylor Rogers to a three-year, $33M contract. He will now be bullpen-mates with his twin brother Tyler.
Craig Kimbrel, once one of the most dominant closers the game has ever seen, signed a one-year, $10M contract with the Phillies.
Michael Conforto found a new home and unfortunately it wasn’t in Toronto. He signed a two-year, $36M contract with the Giants, who were panicking after losing Correa to the Mets in an industry-wide stunner.
Waiver claims have been running rampant throughout the league. Arizona claimed infielder Diego Castillo from the Pirates, the Tigers snagged Zach Logue (a former Blue Jay) from the Athletics and the Rangers grabbed Nick Mears from the Pirates.