Blue Jays Get: Aledmys Diaz (7 HR, .259/.290/.392, 4 SB, 78 wRC+, 0.2 fWAR)
Cardinals Get: Minor leaguer J.B. Woodman (7 HR, .240/.320/.378, 8 SB, 98 wRC+ at Class A)
The Jays and Cardinals pulled off a minor trade, as St. Louis shipped infielder Aledmys Diaz to Toronto for minor league outfielder J.B. Woodman. With Kolten Wong, Greg Garcia, Matt Carpenter, Jedd Gyorko, and the emergence of Paul DeJong, Diaz became expendable, and Blue Jays' middle infielders Troy Tulowitzki and Devon Travis missing time to injury, Diaz is good depth. He may not be quite starter quality, but he is a solid back-up who can handle starting duties without being a liability. He had a very strong rookie season in 2016, slashing .300/.369/.510 with 17 home runs, a 133 wRC+, and 2.7 fWAR in 111 games, but his performance dropped off in 2017. Over 79 games, he slashed .259/.290/.392 with seven home runs, a 78 wRC+, and 0.2 fWAR, so it's difficult to predict exactly how he'll be in 2018. His walk rate also plummeted in 2017, dropping from 8.9% to 4.3%. He'll need to pick that back up if he wants to be productive in 2018. However, he is under team control for five years, so he has plenty of time to bounce back.
22 year old outfielder J.B. Woodman will go back to St. Louis after a mediocre season. He was drafted in the second round in 2016 out of Ole Miss (though he ranked in fourth round territory in my rankings), and after a solid debut last year, he spent all of 2017 at Class A Lansing in the Midwest League. The Midwest League is a pitchers' league, but a slash line of .240/.320/.378 (98 wRC+) is pretty uninspiring for a college hitter in Class A. The Cardinals are great at developing talent, so Woodman could see more success in their system, and he could end up being a solid fourth outfielder in the future. In my opinion, the Blue Jays were the winners here.
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