Blue Jays Add More Depth With Randal Grichuk

Blue Jays Get: Randal Grichuk: 22 HR, .238/.285/.473, 6 SB, 94 wRC+, 1.4 fWAR

Cardinals Get: Dominic Leone: 3-0, 2.56 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 81/23 K/BB, 70.1 IP

Minor leaguer Conner Greene: 5-10, 5.29 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, 92/83 K/BB, 132.2 IP at AA

The Blue Jays look like they are going for depth over star power this year, adding outfielder Randal Grichuk after adding Yangervis Solarte and Aledmys Diaz to the infield and Curtis Granderson to the outfield. The outfield starters are far from set after centerfielder Kevin Pillar, with Grichuk, Granderson, Steve Pearce, Ezequiel Carrera, and Teoscar Hernandez likely to battle for playing time at the corners. Grichuk is a power right handed bat that cracked 22 home runs last season and 24 in the season prior, but he has struggled to get on base, posting on-base percentages of .289 and .285 in 2016 and 2017, respectively. His power should play up in Toronto and other hitter-friendly ballparks in the AL East, giving him a chance to slash something like .250/.300/.500 with a little bit of speed. That's a pretty valuable player, especially considering his playable defense, and he is under contract for 2018, 2019, and 2020 via arbitration. For his career, Grichuk has 66 home runs, a .249/.297/.488 line, and 7.3 fWAR over 404 games.

In this deal, the Cardinals were able to make room for Jose Martinez to have an increased role in the outfield after he hit .309/.379/.518 in 106 games, mostly off the bench. They will get back two players, including reliever Dominic Leone, a 26 year old righty who had a great season in 2017 (2.56 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 81/23 K/BB in 70.1 innings). This comes after he posted two poor seasons, with an 8.40 ERA in 2015 and a 6.33 ERA in 2016, so Leone is far from a sure bet to perform, but his fastball velocity was up a mile per hour in 2017, so the key to success looks to be maintaining that velocity in 2018. For his career, the former Clemson Tiger is 11-8 with a 3.48 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, and a 183/69 strikeout to walk ratio over 160 appearances. Minor leaguer Conner Greene has shown flashes of greatness in the low and mid minors, but he has struggled to adapt to the advanced hitters in AA. In fact, In 22 career starts at High Class A Dunedin, he is 6-7 with a 2.67 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, and an 86/46 strikeout to walk ratio over 117.2 innings. However, in 43 career games (42 starts) at AA New Hampshire, Greene is 14-16 with a 4.90 ERA, a 1.55 WHIP, and a 155/128 strikeout to walk ratio over 226.1 innings. He works with a very good fastball changeup combination – his fastball can hit triple digits – but has struggled mightily with command, walking a career high 13.6% of those he faced in 2017, all in AA. At this point, it looks like he'll be better suited for relief, where he can lay off his less-consistent curveball and slider and focus on that fastball/changeup combo, running that fastball up to 100 or more in short stints.