Looking at How Blue Jays’ Trade Deadline Departures Have Fared to Date
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By most accounts, the Toronto Blue Jays' tightrope-walking trade deadline - in which they accumulated assets for pending free agents while also adding win-now help - was a success. The club got younger while also improving their outlook for 2027.
As part of a series of six trades involving 17 players and prospects (and plenty of emotions), the Blue Jays essentially replaced Kevin Gausman with José Soriano while extracting value from the likes of Daulton Varsho, Jeff Hoffman and Adam Macko, switching out some prospects and adding a few arms.
The impact on Toronto has already been evident. Soriano and Jameson Taillon have already made successful starts for the organization, with Spencer Arrighetti hopefully ready to eventually rejoin the fray once he recovers from a lingering foot injury. Meanwhile, newly acquired call-ups Brett Bateman and Josh Smith are fitting in with their new club.
It's always best to keep an inward focus when it comes to trades, emphasizing how the organization is impacted by incoming additions over the outgoing departures. Of course, it's only human nature to be curious as to how your exes might be faring in their new homes.
Here's how some of the now-former Blue Jays are managing amidst new surroundings:
Kevin Gausman
Following a turbulent, up-and-down season in Toronto, Gausman got right back to being the effective innings-eater that he's been known to be during his first start with the Chicago Cubs. The 35-year-old lasted seven innings for the first time since mid-June, allowing two earned runs and four hits while striking out four and surrendering just one walk.
After a rocky, winless June and July, Gausman is now 2-0 with a 2.13 ERA over two August starts. In other words, he could be rounding into the pitcher that Chicago hoped to land when they parted ways with Batemen and infielder Ty Southisene.
Daulton Varsho
Whatever lingering weirdness may have arisen from Daulton Varsho having to suit up against the Blue Jays just hours after being traded to the Houston Astros didn't seem to affect his performance much.
Varsho reached base four times over his two games against Toronto (three walks and a base hit). Since then, he has gone 1-for-11 as the hitting struggles that Blue Jays fans knew of all too well continue, although he did homer on Sunday night.
Jeff Hoffman
To date, the Minnesota Twins have called Jeff Hoffman out of the bullpen on three occasions. And in true Hoffman fashion, every single appearance was just a little bit different.
Hoffman was highly effective in his Twins' debut, getting through a clean eighth inning against the Kansas City Royals while striking out two. He kept the Milwaukee Brewers off the scoresheet two days later, albeit not without giving up two walks and a hit batter. He returned to the mound on Saturday and didn't walk anyone, but coughed up a run and two hits to take the loss.
Adam Macko
Although the Texas Rangers clearly see some value and promise in Macko, they didn't view him highly enough within their relief pecking order to warrant starting his tenure on the MLB roster. Based on the early returns from the 25-year-old, it seems they were right to exercise caution.
While the Blue Jays have witnessed his ability to get major league hitters out, Macko had also regressed considerably, allowing 10 earned runs over his final seven major league appearances in Toronto. Those struggles seem to have followed him to the Rangers' organization, where he's been roughed up for four earned runs over his first two appearances (2.1 innings) with Triple-A Round Rock.
Arjun Nimmala
While Eddie Micheletti Jr. and Angel Rivero may not be significant enough prospects to warrant their own check-ins, Arjun Nimmala was the centerpiece of the Soriano trade return and Toronto's No. 2 prospect, so he deserves to be included here.
Unfortunately for the Blue Jays, he still looks every bit the part of a top prospect now that he's joined the Los Angeles Angels' organization. Starting out at Double-A Rocket City, he has hit the ground running with two hits (both doubles), three walks and three RBI in just two games
If Soriano and the rest of Toronto's trade deadline haul pan out and prove their value, then the Blue Jays will have little in the way of buyer's remorse. Still, for a club that once handed a future World Series MVP to the rival Boston Red Sox and has made its share of regrettable trades, it's understandable that some may be looking back at what was given up.
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Ben Fisher is a long-time sportswriter and baseball lover, dating back to 2008, when he was a member of the media relations team for the Toronto Blue Jays. He has covered a wide range of sports for a seemingly endless array of publications, including The Canadian Press, Fansided and The Hockey Writers. When he isn't writing about sports, he can be found coaching his equally baseball-obsessed sons' Little League teams.