Daulton Varsho’s Spring Stat for the Blue Jays Is Hopefully A Sign Of Things To Come In 2024 (and beyond)
The Toronto Blue Jays and the Arizona Diamondbacks struck an agreement last offseason in which each team addressed a deficit by delving into areas where their depth was superior. For the Jays, that was at catcher, where Ross Atkins and crew traded left-handed batting outfielder Daulton Varsho—known for his strong defense and deceptive power at the plate—for top prospect Gabriel Moreno and corner outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. in the desert.
A year later, a lot of Blue Jays supporters are still not very happy with the transaction, particularly in light of the fact that Moreno won’t be able to sign a free agent until after the 2028 campaign and the Diamondbacks won the World Series the year before.
Adding gasoline to the fire, Varsho had a very difficult season at the plate in his first year with the Jays, slashing.220/.285/.389 with an 85 OPS+ and a.256 BAbip. He struck out at a rate of 23.2% even though his defensive play—which produced 29 DRS between LF and CF and 10 outfield assists—was as good as anticipated. His defensive play accounted for 0.8 of his 3.9 bWAR.
Daulton Varsho, an outfielder for the Blue Jays, has impressed during spring training.
Varsho has one advantage over Moreno: power. The left-hander hit 20 home runs and 61 RBIs, tying Bo Bichette for the club lead in home runs while finishing fifth in RBIs. Varsho has the advantage in terms of power for extra-base hits, but Moreno has a strong plate presence and greater contact metrics.
With Kevin Kiermaier returning for a single season, Varsho will be the team’s starting left fielder going forward in 2024, with the Gold Glover probably playing center field most of the time. Throughout the season, Varsho will play both positions, shifting to center field when Kiermaier is rested or when manager John Schneider decides to change up the order in response to the opposition’s pitcher.
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