Maybe the Varsho-Moreno Trade Doesn’t Have Just One Winner After All

In recent years, MLB has seen many trades that have been very one-sided and exclusively beneficial to only one of the teams involved. The Toronto Blue Jays have found themselves on the right side of many trades over the last few seasons, and there are very few that their front office has missed on. However, there we’ve seen a few moves that have been mutually beneficial where both teams came out in front.

The best example of such a win-win trade occurred between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Blue Jays on December 23rd of 2022. It saw the Blue Jays trade one of the most highly coveted prospects in baseball and a fan favourite outfielder in exchange for a young hitter on the rise coming off a career-high performance in 2022. Both teams moved on from important players in order to take a chance on new options performing better, and the odd thing is…it worked out for everyone.

One could attempt to split hairs to deduce which team truly came out better than the other and it might be more apt to say that both teams were winners here. Both teams acquired talent that gave them great postseason success and great all-around stability over the coming years,

The Initial Trade

When this trade was initially struck, it was met with some criticism from fans of both sides, neither wanting to part with strong parts of their team. The deal shaped out like this:

Toronto Blue Jays acquire: C/OF Daulton Varsho
Arizona Diamondbacks acquire: OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr., C Gabriel Moreno (#7 MLB prospect)

At the time of the trade, Daulton Varsho was coming fresh off a 27-home run campaign while leading the D-Backs with 4.3 fWAR. He was one of the most valuable young hitters on an Arizona team that missed the postseason for the fifth consecutive seasons. Varsho was also one of just ten hitters in 2022 with 25+ home runs and 15+ stolen bases and led all outfielders in Fielding Run Value (+16) and Outs Above Average (+17). Toronto was undoubtedly gaining, at the time, a versatile and strong all-around talent to bolster their young lineup.

Arizona, on the other hand, acquired Gurriel, who was coming off his fifth-straight season with a wRC+ above 100 and a line of .291/.343/.400 in 2022. The Diamondbacks had five left-handed-hitting outfielders (David Peralta, Alek Thomas, Varsho, Corbin Carroll, Pavin Smith, Jake McCarthy) so they needed to mix things up with a righty bat while filling in the hole left by trading Varsho. Gurriel was a strong hitter with a career slash line of 285/.329/.468 leading up to the trade, so Arizona was getting a good asset.

The crown jewel of this deal for the Diamondbacks, however, was Moreno. At the time of the trade, he was (according to MLB.com) the top catching prospect in MLB and easily the top prospect in the Blue Jays system. At the Triple-A level in 2022, Moreno slashed .315/.386/.420 with a 123 wRC+ after posting wRC+ marks higher than that at every level of MiLB leading up to that season. With Toronto having an excess of MLB-calibre catchers with Alejandro Kirk and Danny Jansen serving as the major-league tandem, Moreno was the choice to move on from.

Both squads gave up important assets in order to improve areas of their team that they needed to improve and there is plenty of talent included in this trade. Future All-Star nods, Gold Glove Awards, and postseason heroics would ensue for both Arizona and Toronto, so neither of these fanbases could truly be upset about the impact of this trade.

Welcome to the Var-show

On the Blue Jays’ end of this trade, they received one of the finest defenders in all of baseball with Daulton Varsho, who has been a source of great stability for them ever since he became a Blue Jay. In each of his three full seasons with the Blue Jays (2023-2025), he has his 18+ home runs, driven in 55+ RBI, and took home an AL Gold Glove Award in center field in 2024.

In 2025, Varsho had his best offensive season in Toronto while only appearing in 71 games. He slugged 20 home runs, drove in 55 RBI, slashed .238/.284/.548, and totaled 2.2 fWAR. Over the course of a full 162-game season, he was on pace for 46 HR, 125 RBI, and 5.0 fWAR, all of which would’ve been career-highs. Varsho’s defensive prowess makes him one of the most valuable parts of Toronto’s squad and he’s shown the limits he can reach throughout his time north of the border.

In the 2025 postseason, many unsung heroes made themselves known as the Blue Jays hunted down their first World Series ring since 1993, and while Varsho wasn’t one of the most notable contributors offensively, he certainly held his own. He slashed .227/.284/.427 in the postseason with three home runs, 10 RBI, 17 hits, and eight extra-base hits (tied for third on TOR).

Combining his ability to stand strong in crucial moments with the bat and his incredible defense, Toronto got an amazing outfielder in this deal and they likely didn’t regret choosing to acquire Varsho. From 2023-2025, Varsho’s +33 FRV and +34 OAA were both fourth-best among all outfielders and he’s continued to make a strong defensive showing in 2026. He’s a free agent at the end of the 2026 season, and even if he doesn’t return to the Blue Jays his contributions have been amazing to the franchise in his tenure in Toronto.

New D-Backs Regulars

The Diamondbacks moved on from Varsho in order to bolster other needs in their lineup. They met their need for a right-handed outfielder with Gurriel, who immediately made an impact in the desert. In 2023, he slashed .261/.309/.463 with a career-high 24 home runs to go along with 82 RBI and 35 doubles. He also earned his only career All-Star appearance that season.

In the postseason that year, Gurriel tied for the team lead in RBI with 11 while notching three home runs and 18 hits en route to Arizona’s first World Series appearance since 2001. He had six hits, five RBI, and a .850 OPS in the World Series, but Arizona came up short.

Speaking of postseason heroics, Moreno was one of the D-Backs’ best performers in that year’s postseason, leading the team with four home runs and 12 RBI while being a defensive stalwart behind the plate. Moreno has been an excellent catcher and has ranked in the top quarter of MLB fielders in FRV every season since being acquired by Arizona and he’s been a solid offensive producer as well.

Moreno took home a Gold Glove Award in 2023 and has posted an OPS of at least .730 in every season of his MLB career and currently has a 124 wRC+ in 2026 for the Diamondbacks. Even though Toronto may have wanted to keep Moreno, Arizona has been able to help him reach his full potential with a starting catching job ever since the trade. He’s under team control through the end of the 2028 season, so he’s got plenty of time to be paying dividends to the Diamondbacks as well.

Closing Thoughts

There truly is not a winner in this trade, but rather two teams that emerged victorious thanks to their respective acquisitions. None of this is to say that any of these players wouldn’t have found success with their initial teams, but rather to highlight the ways that the Blue Jays and Diamondbacks have helped and allowed their talents to flourish and reach their potential in their organizations.

Although neither of these teams have won the World Series since making this trade, it has undoubtedly given them incredible postseason performances and players that have contributed to amazing playoff runs. Both fanbases have gained fan favourites and all of these players have become recognizable names across the league.

The next time you think of a win-win trade, this deal should be at the top of the list. Arizona made the World Series the following season with their acquisitions of Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Gabriel Moreno and Daulton Varsho helped bring Toronto incredible defensive stability and a World Series appearances of their own in 2025. Neither team should regret making this trade and it’s a rare instance where that’s the case.