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Toronto Blue Jay George Springer (4) talks with former teammate Daulton Varsho who was traded to the Houston Astros before their game on Monday in Houston.David J. Phillip/The Associated Press
Daulton Varsho was taking swings in the visitors’ batting cage at Daikin Park early Monday before the start of a series against the Houston Astros when he was called into Toronto manager John Schneider’s office.
It was then that Varsho learned he was on a new team and he’d have an incredibly short trip to join that squad.
The first-place Astros acquired the centre fielder from the Blue Jays for starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti just before the trade deadline. A couple of hours later, Varsho finished his pregame preparations by taking swings in the home batting cage.
“It was definitely weird going from that cage to this cage,” Varsho said, shaking his head.
The AL West leaders wasted no time putting Varsho in the lineup. Houston manager Joe Espada had him batting cleanup against his former team Monday night. His former Blue Jays teammates took the first game in the series with a 3-1 win, snapping the Astros’ six-game winning streak.
“This clubhouse is awesome,” Varsho said of the Astros. “They’re great, great people, they’re excited. So that’s the best part for me is I get to join a team that’s very excited to have me and I’m excited to be a part of it.”
Varsho, a gold glove winner in 2024, provides a big boost in the outfield for the Astros, who with a three-game sweep of the Texas Rangers last weekend took over the division lead for the first time since early April.
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Varsho answers a question during a news conference just hours after being traded to the Houston Astros before their baseball game against his former team on Monday.David J. Phillip/The Associated Press
“[Varsho] fits a hole that we’ve had here for a while,” Espada said. “He brings a different dynamic to our offence, can really play centre field, lefty bat. This guy was in the World Series not that long ago, so he knows what it takes.”
In 99 games this season, Varsho has hit .243 with seven homers and 26 RBIs. He had 20 homers in 71 big league games last season for the Blue Jays, who are last in the AL East after winning the American League pennant in 2025.
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Varsho became emotional when talking about his time with the Blue Jays and added that it was disappointing they couldn’t get things going this season after last year’s surprising run.
Varsho is a .229 career hitter with 106 homers and 321 RBIs in 747 games for Arizona and Toronto since his 2020 debut. He can become a free agent this fall.
