The Toronto Blue Jays acquired outfielder Myles Straw from the Cleveland Guardians yesterday afternoon along with $3.75 million in cash and $2 million in international bonus pool money. The move was used to increase Toronto&#8217;s bonus pool allotment to make a push to sign right-hander Roki Sasaki, the top name in the international free agent class this year. 
Acquiring Straw was how the Jays could gain the bonus pool money, as the Guardians are relieved of some salary cap issues with the trade, as they’ve offloaded a contract they did not want any part of in the long run. 

The Blue Jays are sending a player to be named later or cash considerations to Cleveland as part of this deal. 
Toronto now has Straw in the outfield mix and missed out on Sasaki, with the Japanese product taking his talents to the Los Angeles Dodgers &#8211; another miss for the Jays&#8217; front office who now adds another defensive-minded outfielder into their mix.
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<h2>Myles Straw’s Current Contract Situation  </h2>
Straw signed a five-year deal worth $25 million with the Guardians in 2022, which included a $2 million signing bonus. He also has club options following the 2027 and 2028 seasons at $8 million and $8.5 million, respectively, with a $1.75 million buyout after the 2026 season. After spending three seasons with Cleveland, the Blue Jays will now be responsible for his contract.
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OFFICIAL: We’ve acquired OF Myles Straw, cash, and international bonus signing pool space for the 2025 period from the Guardians in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. 
Straw won the Gold Glove Award in 2022. <a href="https://t.co/QdhqH8b6ON">pic.twitter.com/QdhqH8b6ON</a>
&mdash; Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) <a href="https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1880291658459410890?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Toronto is taking on $15.5 million (including buyout) over the next two years but has the cash from the trade to offset $2 million of the deal over the next two years as well as Straw&#8217;s buyout. 
<h2>Player Background  </h2>
 The 30-year-old outfielder from California was selected in the 12th round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros out of St. Johns River State College in Florida. 
Straw spent three full seasons in the big leagues with the Astros, making his debut at the tail end of the 2018 campaign. He started the 2021 season with Houston and was traded later that year to the Guardians in exchange for Phil Maton and Yainer Diaz. 
Straw’s overall statistics are not a very bold stat sheet but has somewhat reliable numbers and abilities in specific categories. His numbers prove he’s not a power guy, something the Jays need, and fits more as a playmaker and a defensive-minded outfielder &#8211; something the club has found over the past few years. Through seven seasons and 562 games, Straw has slashed .244/.316/.308 with a 76 OPS+. He has amassed six home runs and 125 RBIs across his seven years in the big leagues to the tune of a .625 OPS. 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
Most center fielders would have had to leap or dive to make this catch, if they had caught it at all.<a href="https://twitter.com/myles_straw?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@myles_straw</a> isn&#39;t most center fielders.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ForTheLand?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ForTheLand</a> <a href="https://t.co/Bte6Xdtkwx">pic.twitter.com/Bte6Xdtkwx</a>
&mdash; FanDuel Sports Network Cleveland (@FanDuelSN_CLE) <a href="https://twitter.com/FanDuelSN_CLE/status/1574920190810284034?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 28, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Straw spent most of 2024 with the Columbus Clippers, the Guardians triple-A affiliate team. He only played in seven games with four plate appearances in 2024 in the majors. In this short showing, he slashed .250 all around with a .500 OPS. He was used off the bench for the Guardians down the stretch. 
In triple-A, the 29-year-old saw 495 plate appearances in 123 games. He slashed a .240/.321/.330 and posted a .651 OPS. The outfielder recorded 104 hits, 47 RBIs, scored 62 times, and stole 30 bases. He spent most of the year in centre field, posting a .982 fielding percentage. 
His best season came in 2021 when he split time between the Astros and Guardians. He amassed a .271/.349/.348 slash line with a .696 OPS, where he collected 29 doubles, four home runs, and 48 RBIS &#8211; all of which are career highs. In 2022, he collected a Gold Glove Award for his work in centre field. 
<h2>Base stealer and a defensive stalwart</h2>
It is obvious that his game is carved in his numbers, which is predominantly consistent in a full season. Straw does not posses a ton of power and is more of a gap to gap kind of hitter, spraying the ball around the field when he makes contact. His strength from an offensive standpoint is to get on base and get-over, the standard equation to win games. Straw is patient at the plate, and will draw walks with a strong eye. The value in Straw is his menace behaviour on the base paths.
The outfielder recorded 73 stolen bags in the last three seasons. He’s scored 186 times in the past three seasons. His projections for 2025 are not far off from what we’ve already seen. If his contact abilities and speed 
Straw is a utility outfielder, and is able to fill in all three spots but has spent the most time in centre field. He’s between .982 to 1.000 in fielding percentage. His defense is reliable, displaying speed and range. The outfielder’s profile does add some threatening vibes to the team’s running game, which is greatly needed. If his bat could actually play, he would be the easy pick for the leadoff hitter role.  
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The Toronto Blue Jays acquired outfielder Myles Straw from the Cleveland Guardians yesterday afternoon along with $3.75 million in cash and $2 million in international bonus pool money. The move was used to increase Toronto's bonus pool allotment to make a push to sign right-hander Roki Sasaki, the top name in the international free agent class this year. 

Acquiring Straw was how the Jays could gain the bonus pool money, as the Guardians are relieved of some salary cap issues with the trade, as they’ve offloaded a contract they did not want any part of in the long run. 



The Blue Jays are sending a player to be named later or cash considerations to Cleveland as part of this deal. 

Toronto now has Straw in the outfield mix and missed out on Sasaki, with the Japanese product taking his talents to the Los Angeles Dodgers - another miss for the Jays' front office who now adds another defensive-minded outfielder into their mix.
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<h2>Myles Straw’s Current Contract Situation  </h2>
Straw signed a five-year deal worth $25 million with the Guardians in 2022, which included a $2 million signing bonus. He also has club options following the 2027 and 2028 seasons at $8 million and $8.5 million, respectively, with a $1.75 million buyout after the 2026 season. After spending three seasons with Cleveland, the Blue Jays will now be responsible for his contract.

https://twitter.com/BlueJays/status/1880291658459410890

Toronto is taking on $15.5 million (including buyout) over the next two years but has the cash from the trade to offset $2 million of the deal over the next two years as well as Straw's buyout. 
<h2>Player Background  </h2>
 The 30-year-old outfielder from California was selected in the 12th round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros out of St. Johns River State College in Florida. 

Straw spent three full seasons in the big leagues with the Astros, making his debut at the tail end of the 2018 campaign. He started the 2021 season with Houston and was traded later that year to the Guardians in exchange for Phil Maton and Yainer Diaz. 

Straw’s overall statistics are not a very bold stat sheet but has somewhat reliable numbers and abilities in specific categories. His numbers prove he’s not a power guy, something the Jays need, and fits more as a playmaker and a defensive-minded outfielder - something the club has found over the past few years. Through seven seasons and 562 games, Straw has slashed .244/.316/.308 with a 76 OPS+. He has amassed six home runs and 125 RBIs across his seven years in the big leagues to the tune of a .625 OPS. 

https://twitter.com/FanDuelSN_CLE/status/1574920190810284034

Straw spent most of 2024 with the Columbus Clippers, the Guardians triple-A affiliate team. He only played in seven games with four plate appearances in 2024 in the majors. In this short showing, he slashed .250 all around with a .500 OPS. He was used off the bench for the Guardians down the stretch. 

In triple-A, the 29-year-old saw 495 plate appearances in 123 games. He slashed a .240/.321/.330 and posted a .651 OPS. The outfielder recorded 104 hits, 47 RBIs, scored 62 times, and stole 30 bases. He spent most of the year in centre field, posting a .982 fielding percentage. 

His best season came in 2021 when he split time between the Astros and Guardians. He amassed a .271/.349/.348 slash line with a .696 OPS, where he collected 29 doubles, four home runs, and 48 RBIS - all of which are career highs. In 2022, he collected a Gold Glove Award for his work in centre field. 
<h2>Base stealer and a defensive stalwart</h2>
It is obvious that his game is carved in his numbers, which is predominantly consistent in a full season. Straw does not posses a ton of power and is more of a gap to gap kind of hitter, spraying the ball around the field when he makes contact. His strength from an offensive standpoint is to get on base and get-over, the standard equation to win games. Straw is patient at the plate, and will draw walks with a strong eye. The value in Straw is his menace behaviour on the base paths.

The outfielder recorded 73 stolen bags in the last three seasons. He’s scored 186 times in the past three seasons. His projections for 2025 are not far off from what we’ve already seen. If his contact abilities and speed 

Straw is a utility outfielder, and is able to fill in all three spots but has spent the most time in centre field. He’s between .982 to 1.000 in fielding percentage. His defense is reliable, displaying speed and range. The outfielder’s profile does add some threatening vibes to the team’s running game, which is greatly needed. If his bat could actually play, he would be the easy pick for the leadoff hitter role.  

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Analyzing Myles Straw, the Blue Jays newest outfielder

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