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4 of Daulton Varsho’s best moments as a Blue Jay
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Photo credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
Veronica Chung
Aug 4, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Aug 3, 2026, 21:12 EDT
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Daulton Varsho became one of the most crucial members of the Toronto Blue Jays following the trade from the Arizona Diamondbacks that brought him to the north of the border in December 2022.
He may not have been the most consistent with his bat from the get-go, but Varsho eventually found his rhythm both defensively and offensively as time went on. With his departure at the trade deadline, here are Varsho’s four best moments as a Blue Jay.
Boston Red Sox at Toronto Blue Jays (April 29, 2025): No-look catch
Despite starting his career as a catcher with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Varsho soon became one of the elite defenders in the outfield. He continued his defensive prowess with the Blue Jays after the trade, and his defensive web gem against the Boston Red Sox was probably one of the best examples of what he is capable of.
At the top of the fourth inning, Boston’s left fielder Jarren Duran barreled the ball to the deeper part of the outfield. Varsho then tracked the ball in centre field, but tripped and fell while running. In that moment, everyone thought he wasn’t making the catch.
Not many outfielders make catches after tripping or falling, but Varsho was built differently. The then-28-year-old outfielder quickly recovered from his fall with a light tumble, and when he stretched out his left arm, the ball found his glove. No one would have blamed him if he didn’t secure the ball. But instead of succumbing to the circumstances, Varsho never gave up and did his best to catch the ball.
He made it look all too easy – Toronto had faith that this version of Varsho would show up at some point. And boy, did he show up.
Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays (May 13, 2026): Walk-off grand slam
The Tampa Bay Rays tormented the Blue Jays as per usual. For the game on May 13, 2026, the Rays had already scored three runs within 10 innings and were closer to securing their win against Toronto at Rogers Centre.
Then, something odd started happening when the Rays loaded the bases with only one out in the bottom of the 10th inning. After the Blue Jays got traffic on each base, Varsho came into the batter’s box with a rather heavy responsibility at hand. This was the Blue Jays’ chance to create their comeback miracle, and Varsho happened to be at the centre of that decisive moment.
Understanding the assignment, Varsho remained persistent at the plate as he forced the Rays’ reliever to come more into the zone. When the reliever fired a fastball up in the zone, Varsho clobbered the ball toward the left-field wall. Tampa Bay’s left fielder Chandler Simpson chased the ball, but he soon realized he was looking over his head. The ball landed in the Blue Jays bullpen, specifically in Yariel Rodríguez’s glove.
That was all the Blue Jays needed to turn around their story and end a three-game losing streak. And that’s how the 30-year-old hit an unforgettable walk-off grand slam in his career.
Game 2 of the ALDS home runs (October 5, 2025)
The Blue Jays were feasting on the New York Yankees as soon as the ALDS began at Rogers Centre in early October. On paper, the Yankees were supposed to be the better team, but the Blue Jays showed off their persistence in pitching and offence to flip the script.
Game 2 of the ALDS was the epitome of that as Toronto scored a whopping nine runs by the bottom of the fourth inning. But they weren’t quite done scoring when Varsho came up to bat against New York’s pitcher Will Warren. Once the centre fielder barreled the ball that caught too much of the plate at the bottom of the strike zone, it sailed all the way to the deep right field. Just like that, the Blue Jays had already scored 11 runs by the fourth inning.
But Varsho wasn’t quite done yet. So, in the bottom of the sixth inning, he scooped up another ball at the bottom of the zone and sent it to the standing area of the right-field line. His solo home run banked another insurance run for the Blue Jays, and by then, the score was already 13-2 in Toronto’s favour.
Toronto may have coughed up five runs against the Yankees after, but the team still secured a convincing win with robust run support. This wouldn’t have been possible without Varsho’s big offensive contributions.
Game 1 of the World Series heroics (October 24, 2025)
The Blue Jays knew they were in for an uphill battle against the invincible Los Angeles Dodgers for their World Series matchup last year. As advertised, the Dodgers got ahead early on in Game 1 of the World Series by scoring two runs.
Those two runs weren’t a nail in the coffin for the Blue Jays; they still had the chance to make it up and more. To spark some hope for Toronto, Alejandro Kirk singled against Blake Snell to start the bottom of the fourth inning. As Kirk took his base at first, Varsho came up, looking to do some damage. The outfielder usually doesn’t hit the first ball he sees, but it was a different story when he stepped into the batter’s box to face Snell.
As soon as Snell threw a ball right in the middle of the strike zone, Varsho swung through the pitch and sent the ball straight to the centre-field wall. That was a two-run home run that changed everything for the Blue Jays. It was also the first home run Snell gave up against a left-handed hitter in 2025. And from that point on, they showed off their tenacious offence against the Dodgers to win the game with a score of 11-4.
Varsho’s game-tying home run was the start of something special for the Blue Jays, at least in that first game of the World Series. They knew what was at stake, and his home run defied any and every expectation.
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