- Oct 16, 2026
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The Toronto Blue Jays traded away key contributors at the August deadline but failed to climb back into contention, finishing 79-83 and last in the AL East.
Toronto shipped Daulton Varsho to the Astros for Spencer Arrighetti in a one-for-one swap, and sent Kevin Gausman to the Cubs for prospects Brett Bateman and Ty Southisene. The club also moved Jeff Hoffman and added Jose Soriano, Arrighetti, Josh Smith, and Jameson Taillon. "None of Soriano, Arrighetti, Smith, or rental pickup Jameson Taillon played well," the team acknowledged.
The Blue Jays stood 4.5 games behind the Guardians for the final AL wild card spot when the deadline passed, then lost 5-1 to the Cardinals on August 2 to drop to 52-60.
Bateman emerged as the clearest success story. The 2023 eighth-round pick, who did not appear on Baseball America's top 30 Cubs prospects list, debuted August 7 and hit .329/.402/.424 with two home runs over his first 181 plate appearances. He posted a 138 wRC+ and 1.9 fWAR across 41 games, a mark matched by only 16 players from his debut through season's end. However, his .410 BABIP in the majors and .337 minor-league floor suggest potential regression. Southisene, the higher-regarded prospect, has yet to reach Double-A.
Injuries also hampered Toronto in 2026, as Addison Barger and Anthony Santander combined for just nine MLB games.
Source: MLB Trade Rumors - Sun Oct 18, 11:15 AM ET
Written by the SportsMafia Wire desk in our own words from the original reporting (AI-assisted, checked against the source).