The Arizona Diamondbacks and Toronto Blue Jays both appeared to help themselves in a trade Friday.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that the Diamondbacks sent outfielder/catcher Daulton Varsho to the Blue Jays in exchange for utility man Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and catcher Gabriel Moreno.
Varsho, 26, hit 27 home runs last season and slashed .235/.302/.443.
Gurriel can play the outfield, second and short and is a consistent hitter, with a career OPS+ of 117 in five seasons. While he only hit five home runs last season, he’s topped 20 twice.
But the real wild-card variable in the deal is Moreno, 22, a top-10 prospect in baseball last season. He hit .319 in 25 games with the Blue Jays in his late-season MLB debut.
Yet the Blue Jays are already set at catcher with 24-year-old rising star Alejandro Kirk, an All-Star and Silver Slugger winner last season.
It would seem the deal helps both teams, but the baseball world disagreed.
“Moreno is a consensus top 10 prospect in all of baseball; that kind of player being dealt is incredibly rare,” tweeted ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel.
“Moreno is great but little power and was never going to play. Gurriel being a FA after this year helps. It’s time to win noe and this helps incredibly,” tweeted a Blue Jays fan.
“I think that both teams did well based on where they are in their competitive windows!” tweeted Tarun Sharma.
“Diamondbacks have A LOT of young exciting talent now,” tweeted Terry Gentzler.
“Daulton Varsho is just a 4th OF with power, doesn’t warrant an emotional reaction trade, gurriel killed nyy, Moreno has crazy bat to ball skills, it’s a win for Yankees,” tweeted a Yankees fan.
I think that both teams did well based on where they are in their competitive windows!
— Tarun Sharma (@tksharmalaw) December 23, 2022
Daulton Varsho is just a 4th OF with power, doesn't warrant an emotional reaction trade, gurriel killed nyy, Moreno has crazy bat to ball skills, it's a win for nyy
— BocaLokaTV (@BocaLokatv) December 23, 2022