If the Toronto Blue Jays can squeeze just a little bit more out of Daulton Varsho’s bat, they’ll be in great shape for the 2025 season.

This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual 40-man Roster Review, where we look at the players on the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster. We’ll look at how the player performed in 2024, his season projections for the 2025 season, and any storylines heading into this coming season. In this article, we’ll look at Daulton Varsho.
On Dec. 23, 2022, the Blue Jays traded top prospect Gabriel Moreno and fan favourite Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Varsho. The left-handed batting outfielder was coming off a season where he slashed .235/.302/.443 with 27 home runs in 592 plate appearances for a 106 wRC+ and a 4.4 fWAR, playing terrific defence in the outfield.
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His first season in Toronto didn’t go as well, as Varsho slashed .220/.285/.389 with 20 home runs in 581 plate appearances in 2023, giving him a career-worst (minimum: 200 plate appearances) 85 wRC+ and a 2.1 fWAR. Varsho provided more than enough value in the field though, as he had 29 Defensive Runs Saved and 11 Outs Above Average and he was hilariously robbed of the Gold Glove award because he split time between centre field and left field.
Varsho was better in 2024 thanks to a hot April and August, finishing the year with a .214/.293/.407 slash line with 18 home runs in 513 plate appearances for a 99 wRC+ and a 3.3 fWAR. Once again, Varsho was great defensively as he picked up 28 DRS and a 16 OAA in 1085.1 innings in the outfield, picking up the Gold Glove in centre field.
Next season, <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/players/daulton-varsho/19918/stats?position=OF">Fangraphs’ FGDC</a> predicts that Varsho will slash .233/.296/.408 with 22 home runs in 581 plate appearances for a 100 wRC+ and a 2 fWAR. Steamer has the same slash line, wRC+, and fWAR, but with fewer plate appearances and one less home run. For some reason, it appears that Steamer doesn’t account for defence, shorts his fWAR by quite a bit.
Of course, it’s been reported that Varsho may not be ready for the start of the season as he underwent rotator cuff surgery towards the end of the 2024 season. If he’s not available, the Blue Jays have a handful of players who could fill in for him to start the year, <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/four-blue-jay-players-that-could-fill-in-for-daulton-varsho-if-he-misses-the-start-of-the-season">but you can read that here</a>.
All in all, if Varsho hits as he did in his final season with the Diamondbacks, the Blue Jays will have a left-handed power option who is the best defensive outfielder in the league.
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As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.
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If the Toronto Blue Jays can squeeze just a little bit more out of Daulton Varsho’s bat, they’ll be in great shape for the 2025 season.



This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual 40-man Roster Review, where we look at the players on the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster. We’ll look at how the player performed in 2024, his season projections for the 2025 season, and any storylines heading into this coming season. In this article, we’ll look at Daulton Varsho.

On Dec. 23, 2022, the Blue Jays traded top prospect Gabriel Moreno and fan favourite Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for Varsho. The left-handed batting outfielder was coming off a season where he slashed .235/.302/.443 with 27 home runs in 592 plate appearances for a 106 wRC+ and a 4.4 fWAR, playing terrific defence in the outfield.
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His first season in Toronto didn’t go as well, as Varsho slashed .220/.285/.389 with 20 home runs in 581 plate appearances in 2023, giving him a career-worst (minimum: 200 plate appearances) 85 wRC+ and a 2.1 fWAR. Varsho provided more than enough value in the field though, as he had 29 Defensive Runs Saved and 11 Outs Above Average and he was hilariously robbed of the Gold Glove award because he split time between centre field and left field.

Varsho was better in 2024 thanks to a hot April and August, finishing the year with a .214/.293/.407 slash line with 18 home runs in 513 plate appearances for a 99 wRC+ and a 3.3 fWAR. Once again, Varsho was great defensively as he picked up 28 DRS and a 16 OAA in 1085.1 innings in the outfield, picking up the Gold Glove in centre field.

Next season, <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/players/daulton-varsho/19918/stats?position=OF">Fangraphs’ FGDC</a> predicts that Varsho will slash .233/.296/.408 with 22 home runs in 581 plate appearances for a 100 wRC+ and a 2 fWAR. Steamer has the same slash line, wRC+, and fWAR, but with fewer plate appearances and one less home run. For some reason, it appears that Steamer doesn’t account for defence, shorts his fWAR by quite a bit.

Of course, it’s been reported that Varsho may not be ready for the start of the season as he underwent rotator cuff surgery towards the end of the 2024 season. If he’s not available, the Blue Jays have a handful of players who could fill in for him to start the year, <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/four-blue-jay-players-that-could-fill-in-for-daulton-varsho-if-he-misses-the-start-of-the-season">but you can read that here</a>.

All in all, if Varsho hits as he did in his final season with the Diamondbacks, the Blue Jays will have a left-handed power option who is the best defensive outfielder in the league.

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As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.

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Blue Jays 40-man Roster Review: Daulton Varsho’s defence provides value even if the bat is light

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