The Curious Case of Myles Straw

To say that Myles Straw’s arrival in Toronto was unheralded might even be underselling just how much of a non-factor he was in the trade that made him a Blue Jay. On January 17, 2025 Straw was acquired, along with cash, for a player to be named later, and the cash was the highlight of the package. At the time, Toronto was still considered to be in the hunt for international free agent Roki Sasaki. The timing of the Sasaki signing certainly didn’t help Straw’s case. The Jays added $2 million in international bonus pool money in the trade to help in the Sasaki pursuit. Less than a week later, Sasaki had signed with the Dodgers, while the Jays were left with a player that was unwanted by his old team and did not immediately seem to have a place with the new one.

The first article on Jays Centre breaking down the trade concluded with the glowing endorsement that Straw “could be a helpful piece.” In our first projected lineup after the Straw trade, I anticipated guys like Joey Loperfido and Steward Berroa occupying outfield spots while Daulton Varsho recovered from injury. The fact that Straw didn’t have a spot on the 40-man roster was enough of a hurdle that I thought he’d be left on the outside looking in. Of course, the Jays had other plans and opened the 2025 season with Straw on the bench. After three games of George Springer and Nathan Lukes sharing center field duties, Straw got his first start in game four. He would alternate between starting in center and coming in as a late-inning defensive substitute, making 137 appearances over the season. On April 14, he would hit his first home run as a Blue Jay. I wrote about it and the satisfying *clunk* it made when it hit the outfield railing. I still didn’t believe Straw would be much of a contributor through the season. 

Straw continued to prove us wrong. Over the course of 2025, Straw would accumulate 2.8 bWAR – his highest season total with a single team. By August, we were posting articles with headlines like "How Myles Straw Turned a Bad Trade Into a Good One" and celebrating the player we had. His place on the team for 2026 was never a sure thing, but the way things went this past season, Straw ended up making more appearances (146) than the year prior. His on-field contributions took a bit of a step back, but that was the case for almost every returning position player. Where we really started to notice Straw in ‘26 was in the intangible moments. He always seemed to be one of the first in the dugout to celebrate a big play, and other than Vladimir Guerrero Jr., I think Straw was responsible for the most post-game Gatorade dumps. In fact, the official Blue Jays social media accounts dubbed Vladdy and Straw as the Water Dump Duo. 

Despite the apparent love from the team, on November 2, the front office declined the $8 million club option in Straw’s contract, opting instead for a $1.75 million buyout and making Straw a free agent. In our Depth Check on the outfield, Simon Li leaned towards the Jays picking up that option, noting that the $6.25 million difference between the buyout and option would be unlikely to yield a better player than Straw. Following the official release, both Keegan Matheson and Ben Nicholson-Smith reported on how well-liked Straw is, suggesting they expect the organization to remain in touch and for Straw to be a legit option for the 2027 Blue Jays outfield. Declining the option for a chance to maybe save a million or two on a ‘glue guy’ that still possesses elite defense might seem a bit odd, and that’s what makes this case so curious.

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