Steve Pearce was signed by the Blue Jays in early December 2016 to a $12.5 million, two-year contract.
Before signing, Pearce enjoyed a successful career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, New York Yankees, and Tampa Bay Rays, slashing.254/.333/.441 with 66 home runs in 1857 plate appearances.
Pearce had a mediocre first season in Toronto, hitting.252/.319/.438 in 348 plate appearances with 13 home runs, a 100 wRC+, and 0 fWAR. But he had a scorching start to the 2018 campaign when he slashed.291/.349/.519 with 86 plate appearances, four home runs, and a 135 wRC+.
As a result, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox, his final American League East team. With seven home runs in 165 plate appearances, he concluded the 2018 season with Boston slashing.279/.394/.507 with an extra 1.5 fWAR and a 143 wRC+.
With a higher BB% (19.1%) than K% (17%), he was even more effective in the postseason, going on to slash.289/.426/.658, with four home runs in 47 plate appearances. He ultimately won the World Series MVP award. As you can imagine, in order for the Jays to “win” this deal, the prospect they obtained had high expectations. Did he not?
The Jays were given Santiago Espinal as a prospect. The 2020 season saw the utility infielder’s big league debut, during which he crushed.In 66 plate appearances while regular shortstop Bo Bichette was on the injured list, he hit 267/.308/.333 with no home runs. During the 2021 season, Espinal established himself.
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