Blue Jays have yet to see the Spencer Arrighetti who dominated for the Astros in May

At the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline, the Toronto Blue Jays dealt fan favorite Daulton Varsho to the Houston Astros for starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti.

The trade for Arrighetti was more than reasonable at the time. With many injuries to the starting rotation, Toronto needed depth. He was named American League Pitcher of the Month in May thanks to a 4-1 record in five starts with a 0.93 ERA.

But then June came around, and the reliable Arrighetti began to regress. That would culminate in a trip to the 15-day injured, who would be diagnosed with Morton's neuroma, which causes nerve pain in the foot. Since his return from the IL, it's been nothing but bad starts, and the pitcher MLB saw at the start of the year is long gone.

The Spencer Arrighetti trade for Daulton Varsho hasn't really worked out for either team

Looking at Arrighetti's game logs from May 15 to now, there has been a slow regression from him as an elite pitcher to what's practically a borderline disaster.

From his frist start on Apr. 15 through May 28, he started eight games, and pitched to a 1.37 ERA and 3.99 FIP with 43 strikeouts in 47 innings.

His fortune began to change in his June 3 start against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Arrighetti surrendered four earned runs, inflating his ERA from 1.34 to 1.94. The rest of June was no better, as he finished the month allowing 25 earned runs with a 9.00 ERA, jumping his season total to 4.94.

Despite a bounceback start on July 3 against the Tampa Bay Rays, only allowing one earned run, his following appearance continued his downward spiral, giving up eight earned runs against the Nationals.

To summarize, since June 3, Arrighetti has given up a whopping 52 earned runs, netted an 8.26 ERA, and given up 15 home runs while being on the hook for ten losses in 13 games. The Spencer Arrighetti the Blue Jays were hoping for has not (and most likely won't) materialized, giving the Astros a huge break.

While Varsho has not exactly exploded in Houston the question remains as to whether or not the Blue Jays could have done more in this deal. The Astros acquired him for his Gold Glove-calibre defence in centre field and a much-needed left-handed bat. Houston’s outfield ranked near the bottom of baseball in OPS at the time of the deal.

The offensive results have remained uneven, Varsho is hitting just .173 through his first thirty games with the Astros after batting .243 with Toronto before the trade. Still, Houston can point to Varsho’s elite glove and playoff experience as useful pieces for September as they look to lock down the AL West. Toronto, meanwhile, needs Arrighetti to be more than a struggling hope-and-see arm.

The San Diego Padres got Robbie Ray from the San Francisco Giants for their No. 13 and No. 21 prospects and he's pitched 26.1 innings with a 3.42 ERA through his first five starts. While the Blue Jays did a similar deal to get José Soriano - perhaps a package around Varsho and some lower ranked prospects could have gotten Ray back in the Blue Jays' clubhouse.

With the season winding down, Toronto can't afford to have Arrighetti on the mound as a starter with these results if they want to salvage a Wild Card spot. After an upsetting loss in their series opener against the Athletics, the Blue Jays sit a game back of the Cleveland Guardians for the final Wild Card spot.

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