Blue Jays Bring Back Connor Seabold in Trade With Tigers
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The Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers have been business partners a handful of times over the years, but have already called each other at least twice this offseason and regular season to get a deal done.
This spring, the Blue Jays added LHP Chase Lee in a trade with the Tigers for lefty relief prospect Johan Simon. Now, as Toronto continues to build itself to get back to the top of the AL East division, Detroit has traded away another reliever to the Blue Jays to help the cause.
Right-handed pitcher Connor Seabold, who spent spring training with the Blue Jays this winter, is back in a Blue Jays uniform as the Tigers traded the recently DFA'd Seabold to Toronto for minor league pitcher, lefty Juanmi Vasquez.
Via the Blue Jays' official X page (formerly Twitter), to make room for Seabold on the 40-man roster, starting pitcher José Berríos was placed on the 60-Day IL after undergoing successful Tommy John surgery.
What This Means for Toronto
The Blue Jays have already faced off against the Tigers this season, and from the looks of things, as Toronto improves, Detroit continues to dwindle. Adding Seabold allows John Schneider another righty out of the bullpen who has been rather impressive this season, despite being DFA'd.
Seabold holds a 3.45 ERA in 15.2 innings of work with 14 strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.404. His WAR sits at 0.3, meaning the Blue Jays are getting a bullpen arm who has been a positive addition to the roster this season for the Tigers.
Toronto trades away a 22-year-old prospect who hasn't found success at the High-A level this season in Juanmi Vasquez. Vasquez holds a 5.87 ERA in 12 games, 23 innings thrown with 35 strikeouts to 16 walks.
Vasquez had been in the Blue Jays' system since he was 18 and holds a career minor league ERA of 4.94. There is still a lot of time left to develop for Vasquez, but given where the Blue Jays are now in terms of contending, it might've been best to cut ties and wish each other the best in the future.
Detroit decided to designate Seabold for assignment, so now, as Seabold looks to thrive in the Majors with Toronto, he'll likely look down the line at when the Blue Jays play the Tigers next. A little revenge never hurt anyone, especially that of a team that decided to let you go.
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Dominic Minchella is a 2024 Eastern Michigan University graduate with a BA in Communications, Media, and Theatre Arts and a Journalism minor. He covers Major League Baseball for On SI and spends his free time watching games and sharing his insights.