Toronto Blue Jays: Grading their trade deadline moves
![TORONTO, ON - JUNE 29: General manager Ross Atkins of the Toronto Blue Jays speaks to members of the media before the start of MLB game action against the Detroit Tigers at Rogers Centre on June 29, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) TORONTO, ON - JUNE 29: General manager Ross Atkins of the Toronto Blue Jays speaks to members of the media before the start of MLB game action against the Detroit Tigers at Rogers Centre on June 29, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/d803586781bbec189555236f2409835ed82dda217d1f19b45c03ff9b3005bff9.jpg)
Steve Pearce
The deal:
What the Blue Jays signaled with this trade was that they weren’t going to be sitting back and wait until the final week of the trade deadline to get started. It was not the type of deal that many expected and unfortunately, it was more about relieving a surplus on the roster.
Pearce joined the Blue Jays as a free agent signing a two-year deal in 2016 and was expected to be used as a utility option. With Justin Smoak having a breakout season and Kendrys Morales occupying the DH spot, there wasn’t a place for Pearce to play on a regular basis.
That’s not to say 35-year-old wasn’t productive, had he not been injured as much as he was, the Blue Jays might have gotten more out of him and could’ve traded for a better return.
In 118 games with Toronto, Pearce hit .260/.325/.454 with an OPS of .779 over 434 plate appearances. There were moments when Pearce was a valuable contributor at the plate especially when it came to hitting grand slams.
Now with Boston, Pearce is hitting .333/.420/.500 with an OPS of .921in 17 games in what has been a great pickup for the Red Sox.
Coming the Blue Jays way was Santiago Espinal who was a 10th round pick of the Red Sox and was seeing a spike in production in 2018. Through 65 games with the Salem Red Sox, he had a slash line of .313/.363/.477. with seven home runs and 32 RBIs.
Now playing in double-A with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the 23-year-old is hitting .235/.297/.324 with five RBIs in 10 games. It’ll take time for him to have more of an impact but as Ian Hunter wrote for Daily Hive, Espinal is considered one of the five most compelling prospects to watch going forward.