Blue Jays & Astros Pull Off 1-for-1 Real Baseball Trade
BREAKING: The Astros are acquiring Daulton Varsho from the Blue Jays in exchange for Spencer Arrighetti, per multiple reports. pic.twitter.com/Phuiv1yKfy
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 3, 2026
Pending free agent Daulton Varsho is heading to Houston, and in return, Toronto acquires starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti.
The deal makes sense on a number of fronts. The Astros need help in the outfield, and Varsho is on an expiring contract, so the Jays get to move him for an asset.
On the other hand, the Blue Jays' starting staff was looking pretty barren for the 2027 season before Monday, with Kevin Gausman traded, Max Scherzer soon to be a free agent again, and Jose Berrios out until late in the '27 season. After their earlier acquisition of Jose Soriano from the LA Angels, adding Arrighetti gives Toronto another piece for its 2027 rotation.
Varsho is an elite defender in center field, and can muscle up for some power on occasion. This year, he's batting .243 with only seven homers, and a .682 OPS, following a career-best .833 OPS last season with 20 homers in just 71 games.
Arrighetti is a 26-year-old righty who does have a deep arsenal of pitches, but hasn't yet completely broken through as a high end starter. He's holding batters to a .215 average this season, but struggles with control, with an ugly 87:50 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He has a 4.60 ERA in 17 starts and a 4.66 ERA in 52 career starts.
He's under team control through the end of the 2029 season.
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