Gabriel Moreno’s batting title exposes the Blue Jays’ real mistake in the Daulton Varsho trade

Gabriel Moreno may have solidified himself as one of the top catchers in baseball with the 2026 MLB regular season now in the rearview mirror. The Arizona Diamondbacks backstop, and former Toronto Blue Jays top prospect, won the National League batting title, hitting .311 to edge Philadelphia Phillies infielder Luis Arraez, who finished at .310.

Moreno became the first player in Diamondbacks history to win a batting crown and only the fifth catcher to accomplish the feat. Across the majors, only Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez finished with a higher average among qualified hitters.

While the batting average statistic isn't as revered of a measurement of a players' offensive skill as it used to be, it's still regarded as quite the accomplishment to finish the year with the top mark in the respective leagues.

For Blue Jays fans, Moreno’s accomplishment is bound to reopen a familiar wound, while at the same time bringing about a familiar argument.

First of all, this is not about wishing the Blue Jays had chosen Moreno over Alejandro Kirk. Kirk has become an excellent catcher in his own right and remains a popular, and valuable part of Toronto’s roster. The sting comes more from watching Moreno blossom into one of baseball’s best catchers after the Blue Jays used him — along with Lourdes Gurriel Jr. — to acquire Daulton Varsho, only for Varsho’s tenure in Toronto to end with a trade for Spencer Arrighetti.

The issue Blue Jays fans have to wrestle with now is whether the front office used one of baseball’s most valuable trade chips efficiently enough.

Blue Jays fans can love Alejandro Kirk and still question the trade Gabriel Moreno - Daulton Varsho trade

Toronto entered the 2022-23 offseason with a surplus behind the plate. Kirk was already established and so was Danny Jansen. Moreno was regarded as one of the top prospects and that's why moving a catcher to address another need made sense.

Varsho also fit what the Blue Jays wanted at the time. Toronto needed stronger outfield defence, and potentially, another source of power. Varsho was coming off a 27-home run season with Arizona and offered elite defence in centre field.

Varsho provided some value during his time in Toronto. He won a Gold Glove award, and helped the Blue Jays reach the 2025 World Series. Calling him a bad player, or pretending his four seasons with the club were a failure isn't accurate. But it's also fair to feel like his tenure ended up as an underwhelming trade return.

Since the original trade, Varsho produced 12.0 bWAR, while Moreno alone surpassed that total before adding a 6.7-bWAR batting-title season in 2026. Gurriel contributed additional value in Arizona and was an All-Star during the Diamondbacks’ run to the 2023 World Series, before he was DFA'd this season.

And now that Varsho was traded to Houston at the 2026 deadline for Arrighetti, the Blue Jays essentially turned Moreno and Gurriel into four years of Varsho and however long Arrighetti lasts with the Blue Jays.

Arrighetti has already been frustrating to watch in his short time with Toronto. He's pitched to a 6.35 ERA and 6.85 FIP in 22.2 innings over seven games, including two starts.

The frustration grows when the rest of Toronto’s 2022-23 offseason moves are put into context. The Blue Jays traded Teoscar Hernández, signed Kevin Kiermaier and added Brandon Belt. Kiermaier supplied elite defence, while Belt became the primary designated hitter and restored some of the offence lost in the Hernández deal.

Those moves made the Varsho acquisition feel somewhat redundant over the long-term. The Blue Jays could have kept Hernández’s right-handed power, signed Kiermaier to handle centre field and preserved Moreno as the centrepiece of a different trade, or perhaps tried him at different positions while letting him get plenty of DH at-bats.

Instead, the club spent its best prospect capital on a player whose strongest skill overlapped with another offseason addition.

The roster still had obvious places to upgrade. Whit Merrifield, Cavan Biggio and Santiago Espinal shared second-base duties, while George Springer remained the regular right fielder. A premium infielder or a more complete middle-of-the-order bat would have addressed a larger long-term need. The Diamondbacks certainly had an upgrade there for the Blue Jays to be interested in.

That upgrade is Ketel Marte. We're not saying Arizona would have traded him, but he's a clear example of the caliber of player Toronto should have been pursuing for a package built around Moreno and Gurriel.

Yes, hindsight is 20/20, and nobody could have known for sure the kind of player Moreno was going to turn into, but based on his production, Marte was more of an even trade just based off the overall production.

Since the beginning of the 2023 season, Marte has been worth 18.5 bWAR, while Moreno and Gurriel Jr. have been worth 19.8 combined. No, bWAR is not the ending and deciding factor, but it's a good snap shot to compare these individuals.

Moreno winning a batting title does not mean the Blue Jays made a mistake by committing to Kirk. Teams have to make choices, and keeping two young catchers of that calibre was never the only sensible path forward.

While Varsho improved the Blue Jays outfield defense, the organization ultimately converted two significant assets into four seasons of a useful player and, eventually, Arrighetti. Perhaps the right-hander will make that chain of transactions look better with time. For now, it is difficult to argue that Toronto maximized what it had.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow