Blue Jays: Toronto/Miami Trade, Reviewed Eight Years Later

The Miss

The player I thought was going to surprise fans was Emilio Bonifacio.  The speedy base stealer could play all over the field as he had played every defensive position except first base and catcher.  Bonifacio had always hit for a decent average, however, things just did not work out in Toronto.  After having just a .218 BA and .258 OBP the Blue Jays sold him to the Kansas City Royal in August of that first season in Toronto.

Bonifacio would bounce around the league for the next few years and after not getting any major league at-bats in 2018 and 2019, he got three trips to the plate in 2020 with the Washington Nationals, but failed to get a hit.  It looks as though Bonifacio’s time as a professional baseball player may be coming to an end.

Cup of Coffee
John Buck was an add-on in the trade with the Marlins, but it isn’t clear if he ever actually came to the city of Toronto after the deal.  Less than a month after the trade, Buck was packaged in a deal to the New York Mets for R.A. Dickey.  Buck would play for four major league teams over the next two seasons before retiring after the 2014 season.

The Cost

The Infamous Player
The most popular player in the trade that left Toronto was Yunel Escobar.  Escobar was just two months removed from an incident where he put a homophobic slur written on his eye black during a game on September 15, 2012.  The act got him suspended and essentially booked his ticket out of town.

Like John Buck, less than a month after being traded, Escobar would be shipped again as the Marlins would trade him to the Tampa Bay Rays.  Escobar would have short stints in Tampa Bay, Washington and Los Angeles (Angels) before retiring after the 2017 season.  Escobar always had a steady bat at the plate and would bat over .300 in back-to-back seasons in 2015 and 2016.

In his first season with the Tampa Bay Rays he played in his only post season and hit incredibly well in the ALDS against the Boston Red Sox in a four game loss.  In the four games, Escobar went 7 for 15 (.467) with a pair of doubles and just one strikeout.  Escobar his now retired since 2017.

Veteran Help
Jeff Mathis was coming off his first season with the Blue Jays after seven years in the Angels organization.  As a career back-up, it appeared he was an easy throw in player on the deal.  He would stay in Miami as their second-string backstop for four seasons before stops in both Arizona and Texas.  His time with the Marlins saw a player with a .195 BA and .252 OBP with no power over 210 games.

Mathis just became a free agent this winter after two seasons in Texas that saw him have a .159 BA.