Article: Blue Jays Trade PTBNL for Myles Straw, a Pile of Money, and a Different Pile of Money

[Davy Andrews]

The Blue Jays have added a defense-first center fielder to take the place of Kevin Kiermaier, and they've done what they can to  bolster their chances of landing Roki Sasaki.

On Friday morning, just three hours after word spread that the Padres were no longer a possible destination for Roki Saski, the Blue Jays swung a move that could only be interpreted as a bid to bolster their chances of landing the ace. The Blue Jays announced that they had traded either cash or a player to be named later to the Guardians in exchange for center fielder Myles Straw, along with international bonus pool money.

Just after noon Eastern, Zack Meisel reported some specifics: The Guardians will be sending Cleveland $1 million in 2025 along with $1.75 million in 2026, along with $2 million in international bonus pool money. The Blue Jays will be sending a player to be named later.

The deal's biggest takeaway is that although the Dodgers remain the favorite to land Sasaki, the Blue Jays clearly think they still they have a chance. The Blue Jays started the offseason with just under $6.3 million in bonus pool money, and all teams are allowed to increase their pool to up to 60%, so this is a major addition to their total. With Sasaki coming over from Japan before age 25, he will be on a rookie contract, and the only real money he will see until he enters arbitration in his fourth season is his bonus money. Clearly, money is not the biggest motivating factor for him, or else he would have waited the extra two years to land a contract in the hundreds of millions of dollars. However, the Blue Jays clearly think this could help them. There is no way to know what calculus Sasaki is using to make his decision, though it's clear that his process has been extremely thorough.

All the money heading Toronto's way is an indication of just how far underwater Straw's contract truly is. However, between players like Kevin Pillar and Kevin Kiermaier, the Blue Jays clearly love themselves a defense-first center fielder, and few players feature defense that stands further out in front of their offense than Straw.

Straw came up with the Astros, making his debut in 2018. His first full season didn't come until 2021, when he put up 3.0 fWAR thanks to a .271 batting average, 98 wRC+, 30 stolen bases, and his trademark excellent defense. He also got traded to Cleveland at the deadline in exchange for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. With Straw coming off a three-win season, Cleveland saw the chance to lock a potential star up long-term. In April of 2022, they signed Straw to an extension, buying out some arbitration years with a five-year, $25 million contract that took Straw through 2026 and included team options for 2027 and 2028. Straw will make $7 million in 2025 and 2026. The team options are for $8 million in 2027 (with a $1.75 million buyout) and $8.5 million in 2028 (and a $500,000 buyout).

The problem is that the moment Straw signed the extension, he stopped hitting. Although he won a Gold Glove in 2022, he was only worth 1.4 fWAR, making him a below-average player, because his batting line was 35% worse than the league average. He didn't hit any better in 2023, and because the advanced metrics saw his defense as more good than spectacular, his 0.2 WAR was just barely better than replacement-level. Straw spent nearly the entire 2024 season in triple-A Columbus, where he put up a 72 wRC+ while batting .240. That's right, Straw hit .240 in Triple A. He has six career home runs to his name, with no power to speak of, he pretty much needs to hit .300 in order to provide any value at the plate. Instead, over the past four seasons, he has a .307 slugging percentage.

Straw is now Toronto's problem, but there are certainly worse problems a team could have. Sure, it would be unreasonable to expect him to hit at all, but he's only 30 years old, he's only under contract for two years, and unless you're the Cleveland Guardians, he's not owed all that much money. In fact, if you count the international bonus pool money, you the Jays are only paying Straw $4 million this season and $5.25 million next season, plus the $1.75 million buyout. That's a lot for a fourth outfielder, and it's a ton for a triple-A outfielder, but Straw could still be useful to the Blue Jays. He stole 30 bases in Triple A last year, so he's clearly still got the speed to be a great center fielder. It's possible that he'll start the season as the team's everyday center fielder, ceding the role to Daulton Varsho when the latter returns from rotator cuff surgery. Moreover, he's extremely fun to watch, especially if you enjoy players cursing loudly when they get out. He plays great defense, steals bases, puts the ball in play, and busts it out of the left-handed batter's box.

The likeliest outcome here is still that Sasaki lands in Los Angeles, which will end up making this move look somewhat silly in retrospect. However, Straw does fill a need for the Blue Jays, and while he's unlikely to make anyone forget about Devon White, he could be a helpful piece.

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[mphenhef]

Still not getting my hopes up.

[Jimcanuck]

7 minutes ago, mphenhef said:

Still not getting my hopes up.

And yet you are F5'ng like a demon

[SuperBlackhawk]

3 hours ago, Jimcanuck said:

And yet you are F5'ng like a demon

Old school MS Windows joke. 😆