Diamondbacks trade Daulton Varsho for prospect Gabriel Moreno in blockbuster deal with Blue Jays
Moreno #Moreno
The Diamondbacks traded outfielder Daulton Varsho to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for highly touted catcher Gabriel Moreno and outfielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr., a deal that peels away from their stable of young outfielders in order to give them a frontline catcher of the future.
Varsho was the club’s most established young outfielder, a 26-year-old who this season connected for 27 homers and was a finalist for a National League Gold Glove Award.
But with a trio of young outfielders already in place in Corbin Carroll, Alek Thomas and Jake McCarthy, and with Gurriel giving them at least a high-level stopgap contributor in his final year before free agency, the Diamondbacks saw the opportunity to acquire Moreno as too good to refuse.
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Moreno, 22, ranks as the third-best prospect in the majors according to Baseball America, coming in two spots above Carroll. He is a .310 hitter in the minor leagues who has struck out just 133 times in 1,069 career plate appearances.
He also performed well in a major-league cameo this year, posting a .319/.356/.377 line with one homer in 73 plate appearances. Moreno, according to Baseball America, “possesses superior hand-eye coordination and a discerning eye that he uses to identify spin quickly out of the pitcher’s hand.” His biggest question pertains to his future power potential, though the Diamondbacks seem to believe he will grow into power in time.
With good receiving skills and a strong arm, Moreno earns high praise from scouts as a defender. “His natural hitting gifts and plus defense behind the plate make him a potential All-Star even with questions about his power,” Baseball America wrote.
With the emergence of Alejandro Kirk and the presence of young veteran Danny Jansen, the Blue Jays were trading from a position of depth — just as the Diamondbacks were with Varsho.
Varsho, who has four years to go before free agency, was a beloved player in the clubhouse. A former catcher, he became a full-time outfielder midway through this season, recording some of the better defensive metrics of any outfielder in the majors.
Though he struggled against left-handed pitching this year and was prone to fall into prolonged slumps at the plate, Varsho also represented the most dependable production the Diamondbacks had in their outfield entering 2023, a year in which they hope to compete.
The move puts increased pressure on both Thomas and McCarthy. Thomas, long regarded as a high-caliber prospect, struggled in his first year in the big leagues, seemingly unable to make quick adjustments against quality pitching. McCarthy, however, thrived, and the club is apparently banking on his breakout being real.
Gurriel, however, could be seen as something of a safety net. The younger brother of Astros slugger Yuli Gurriel, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. has a five-year track record as an above-average major league hitter. He has a .285/.329/.468 line in his career.
Last year, Gurriel hit .291/.343/.400 with just five homers; the Diamondbacks believe his decline in slugging could be traced to a wrist injury that bothered him much of the year. He underwent surgery in October to address the issue, according to the Blue Jays. He is set to become a free agent after this year, in which he will earn $5.8 million.
Both Gurriel and Moreno help provide right-handed balance to a Diamondbacks lineup that leans left-handed.
Though Moreno gives them a potential frontline catcher, the Diamondbacks sound as if they intend to keep Carson Kelly, who has been the club’s No. 1 catcher the past four seasons. Kelly has struggled to perform consistently at the plate, owing a .231/.318/.405 line during his time with the Diamondbacks.
Kelly’s presence would allow the club to give Moreno a softer landing, breaking him into a bigger role with somewhat limited pressure.
Moreno gives the Diamondbacks yet another high-end prospect. Between him, Carroll, shortstop Jordan Lawlar and center fielder Druw Jones, the club possesses four of the Top 25 or so best prospects in baseball, at least according to multiple publicly available rankings. All play up the middle positions.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks trade Daulton Varsho for prospect Gabriel Moreno in blockbuster deal with Blue Jays