The Toronto Blue Jays and the Colorado Rockies have agreed to trade outfielders. The Rockies get Randal Grichuk and the Blue Jays get Raimel Tapia. Teenager prospect Adrian Pinto also transfers from the Rockies to the Blue Jays as part of a deal, while the Jays send some money to the Rockies. teams announced on Thursday.
It seems that Tapia found out about it at the same time as everyone else.
Tapia, 28, hit .273/.327/.372 (80 OPS+) with 26 doubles, two triples, six homers, 50 RBIs, 69 runs, 20 steals and 1.0 VAR in 133 games for the Rockies last season. He has mostly played on the left in his career, but was scheduled to play on the right for the Rockies, which is where he is likely to replace Grichuk in the Blue Jays.
Of course, the Blue Jays could also play Theoscar Hernandez in right field, which would open up the designated hitter at bat for someone not previously slated as a starter (Alejandro Kirk or Greg Byrd?).
Grichuk, 30, hit .241/.281/.423 (89 OPS+) with 25 doubles, 22 homers, 81 RBI, 59 runs and .8 WAR for the Blue Jays in 149 games last season. Most likely, he will simply slide into the right field.
Given the late spring training, this exchange is pretty amazing. Perhaps there are more moves in the work of the Blue Jays.
We know that Grichuk needs to earn over $10 million in 2022 and 2023 before he becomes a free agent. Tapia will earn $3.95 million this season and will have another year of arbitration before he becomes a free agent. The Blue Jays sent some money to the Rockies, but it may have been done, at least in part, to save some money while trying to maximize the franchise’s resources elsewhere.
As for Pinto, the 19-year-old Venezuelan plays second, shortstop and outfield. He hit .360/.487/.543 with 41 stolen bases in 54 Dominican Summer League games last season, his first record in professional baseball. There is a lot of potential here and the Blue Jays are adding it to the organization.
The Blue Jays went 91-71 last season, missed one game in the playoffs, and were aggressive in the offseason looking to get back into the playoffs. Here’s the full CBS Sports Blue Jays preview.