OFFICIAL: We've acquired Gold Glove Finalist and All-MLB Finalist OF Daulton Varsho from the Dbacks in exchange for OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and C Gabriel Moreno. Welcome to the #BlueJays, @DaultonVarsho25!
Two years ago today: The Blue Jays acquire Daulton Varsho from the Diamondbacks
Photo credit: Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 23, 2024, 15:30 ESTUpdated: Dec 23, 2024, 15:57 EST
Two years ago today, the Toronto Blue Jays acquired one of the best centre fielders in the game.
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 Daulton Varsho.
Varsho was coming off a season where he slashed .235/.302/.443 with 27 home runs in 592 plate appearances with the Diamondbacks, giving him a career-high 106 wRC+ and a 4.4 fWAR. Moreno ranked as a top 10 prospect in baseball, while Gurriel Jr. slashed .291/.343/.400 with five home runs in 493 plate appearances for a 115 wRC+ and a 1.6 fWAR.
Not even a year after the trade, the Diamondbacks made the postseason in a Wild Card spot and won the National League pennant. Gurriel Jr. slashed .273/.290/.455 with three home runs in 70 plate appearances for a 91 wRC+, while Moreno hit four home runs and slashed .238/.304/.444 for a 100 wRC+ during their postseason.
Last season was a career-best for Gurriel Jr., at least in terms of fWAR, as he finished slashed .279/.322/.435 with 18 home runs in 553 plate appearances for a 108 wRC+ and a 2.2 fWAR. Gurriel Jr. hit a career-high 24 home runs in 2023.
Moreno hasn’t quite broken out yet, as he slashed .266/.353/.380 with five home runs in 351 plate appearances, for a 107 wRC+ and a 2.5 fWAR last season. In 2023, Moreno won the National League Gold Glove for catchers thanks to 20 Defensive Runs Saved, but only had half of that in 2024.
Speaking of Gold Gloves, there’s an argument that Varsho is the best fielder in baseball. Since joining the Blue Jays in 2023, Varsho has 57 DRS and 26 Outs Above Average. The former is by far the highest for any player in that span, with fellow Blue Jay Andrés Giménez being the next-best player at 43 DRS. There’s another large gap between Jiménez and Brice Turang, who ranks third with 34 DRS.
🏆 FINALLY 🏆 @DaultonVarsho25 wins his first #GoldGlove Award!
Looking strictly at outfielders, Varsho’s 57 DRS the past two seasons is nearly double Brenton Doyle’s, with the second-highest DRS of 30. Funnily enough, Gurriel Jr. has 17 DRS in the past two years, good enough to be tied for 11th for outfielders.
Varsho’s bat has been a bit light since joining the Blue Jays, as he’s slashing .217/.289/.398 with 38 home runs in 1,094 plate appearances since joining the Canadian team. Last season, he had a 99 wRC+, giving him an average bat with terrific defence. There’s not much more you can ask for from him.
Overall, it was a pretty good trade for the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks.
As always, you can follow me on Bluesky @ryleydelaney.bsky.social.