Blue Jays: Initial trade deadline disappointment starting to wane

At the time of the trade, nobody was really sure why the Jays traded for Whit Merrifield considering he was not part of the Kansas City Royals contingent prior to the All-Star break because he was unvaccinated. That has since changed, as Merrifield was able to enter Canada after the trade and is no longer subject to Canadian and American COVID-19 quarantine regulations.

Merrifield has posted a .250/.327/.318 slash line with a .645 OPS through 44 at-bats with the Blue Jays. He has one home run, a wall scrapper in New York that took two bounces off the wall before jumping into the bullpen, and has used his speed on the base paths to help the Jays win ballgames, most notably in Minnesota when he slide into Gary Sanchez, who was blocking home plate and gave the Jays the lead.

Defensively, Merrifield has been a utility player, splitting time between second base, center field, and right field, having yet to commit an error. He looks solid at both positions and has also been used in late-game situations as a pinch runner or defensive replacement when needed.