Toronto Blue Jays: Grading their trade deadline moves
Seunghwan Oh
The deal:
No reliever showed more consistency for the Blue Jays this season than Seunghwan Oh especially late in the game with Osuna out of action.
There’s not more that the team could have asked for from a player that was unable to find a team to play for until Toronto came calling in February. In 47 innings, the 36-year-old had a 2.68 ERA and a 10.9 K/9 in mostly late-inning situations.
This made him an attractive option for the Colorado Rockies who desperately needed an upgrade in the bullpen which is exactly what they’ll get from Oh. So far in 2.1 innings of work, the South Korean has not allowed a run giving up two hits, and a walk.
What the Blue Jays got back in return were two prospects who ranked in the Rockies top 30. Chad Spanberger was their 24th ranked prospect selected in the sixth round of the 2017 draft and Forrest Wall was 13th on their list.
Spanberger has displayed strong power against right-handed pitching and he’s shown it in four games with Lansing hitting .467/.471/.800 with a home run, a triple and five RBIs to go along with an OPS of 1.271. Not a bad start for the 22-year-old and he’ll be a player to watch as he moves up the minor league chain.
Wall is not off to a fast start in double-A hitting .235/.300/.471 in four games with eight strikeouts, a home, and two RBIs. Granted it’s early and the Blue Jays like the athletic ability he shows as he’s capable of playing at second base and the outfield.
Again when prospects are involved in the deal, there’s no telling how things are going to work out but the Blue Jays like to have options in the minors than a reliever who was going to leave in the offseason.