Astros land OF Daulton Varsho from Blue Jays for SP Spencer Arrighetti ahead of deadline
Daulton Varsho is headed to Houston.
The Astros reached a deal to land the outfielder just ahead of the MLB trade deadline on Monday . In return, the Toronto Blue Jays acquired starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti.
Varsho holds a .243 batting average this season, his seventh in the league, with 26 RBI and 7 home runs. The 30-year-old, who won a Gold Glove in 2024, is on a one-year, $10.75 million contract. He'll be a free agent in the offseason.
Arrighetti holds a 4.60 ERA and a 7-5 record in 17 starts with the Astros this season, his third in the league. He's currently on the injured list, however, dealing with a foot injury. It's unclear when he'll return, though it's expected to be this season.
On Monday, the Astros (58-55) begin a three-game series against the Blue Jays (52-60) at Daikin Park. They've won 11 of their past 12 and have jumped into first in the AL West.
The Blue Jays, meanwhile, have been struggling. They're last in the AL East just months removed from their first trip to the World Series since 1993.
The move is the latest the Blue Jays have made at the trade deadline. They sent starter Kevin Gausman to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday and acquired José Soriano in a deal with the Los Angeles Angels earlier on Monday.
Grading this deal for the Astros and Blue Jays
It's been a fascinating deadline north of the border, as the Blue Jays have now parted with two beloved players on expiring contracts in Kevin Gausman and Daulton Varsho, while adding a long-term piece in right-hander José Soriano from the Angels.
Varsho's tenure in Toronto wasn't as thoroughly successful as Gausman's, but he provided a consistent blend of defense in center field and left-handed power that will surely earn him some hearty cheers whenever he next returns to Rogers Centre. It has been a strange season for the 30-year-old, who has slashed his strikeout rate to a career-low 19.5% but has seemingly lost some of the juice that made him a dangerous bat; his .375 slugging percentage is a career low. That said, Houston has been desperate for any sort of upgrade in the outfield, and Varsho can provide plus defense in center field — and perhaps rediscover some pop down the stretch for a club pushing for an AL West title. Funnily enough, Varsho's first opponent as an Astro will be his old pals, as the Jays are in Houston for a three-game series starting Monday.
The Jays, meanwhile, do a great job here in flipping a player slated to hit free agency for a pitcher in Arrighetti who is under team control through 2030. Injuries have made it difficult for Arrighetti to find a groove since his stellar rookie season in 2024, when he struck out 171 batters in 145 innings, but he has shown flashes of being a capable rotation option as recently as this season, when he posted a 1.34 ERA across his first eight starts. Of course, that stellar run was followed by an 8.34 ERA across his next nine outings, which is probably why Houston was OK parting with him, rather than having the patience to develop him into a longer-term rotation fixture. Toronto will be happy to take on that challenge, however, and did well to land Arrighetti in this deal for a rental. — Shusterman
