The trade: The Toronto Blue Jays acquire IF/OF Whit Merrifield from the Kansas City Royals for RHP Max Castillo and IF Samad Taylor.
After years of his name floating around in the deadline whisper mill, Merrifield was finally actually traded. He is headed to the Blue Jays, with whom he has a shot at his first postseason experience. The acquisition was the biggest of the day for Toronto, which was busy in a low-key kind of way before the deadline. The Royals, meanwhile, bid goodbye to a longtime favorite and say hello to a couple of more prospects to aid them in their lengthening rebuild.
So, let's grade one of the final trades of the day.
We're going to touch on the Jays' other deals on Tuesday below and try to judge each move on its own merits. But I do so while acknowledging that Toronto's overall deadline maneuvering feels underwhelming. This trade is about a position player, but what the Blue Jays needed most was to add some postseason-worthy pitching. I'm not sure they accomplished that. The Jays' roster is better, but is it better when you think of it in terms of facing the Houston Astros or the New York Yankees in the playoffs?
As for Merrifield, let's start with an obvious point. As one of the "Royals 10" -- the big chunk of Kansas City's roster that recently had to skip a trip to Toronto because of vaccine fear -- it appears he is going to get the COVID-19 shot after all. If not, he'll have some odd home-road splits during his near future with the Blue Jays.
It's worth wondering why the vaccine is less of a concern when you are playing for a contender, but beyond that, I'll move on. Toronto at least gets an A-plus for doing a public health service in acquiring Merrifield.
On the diamond, Merrifield figures to infringe upon Toronto's second base platoon between Santiago Espinal and Cavan Biggio, while also moving around the outfield and getting an odd turn at DH. Versatility has long been one of his calling cards, and the Blue Jays will make good use of that trait.
Of course, versatility is one thing and effective versatility is another. Merrifield's game has fallen off during this, his age-33, season. After his OPS peaked at .811 in 2019, when he led the American League with 206 hits, that number has fallen to .764, .711 and .643 in subsequent seasons. This year, his defensive metrics have declined, as well, and so he leaves Kansas City with a minus-0.2 bWAR to show for his final season there.
The Blue Jays need Merrifield to start producing up to his normal standard or this trade doesn't work. Luckily, there isn't anything in his underlying metrics that suggests a loss of bat speed. Indeed, if anything, the problem appeared to be an overly passive approach -- and that might already be changing, as Merrifield hit .284/.341/.506 during his final month with K.C.
Elsewhere, Toronto was rumored to be in the mix on every pitching trade candidate from Luis Castillo to Noah Syndergaard. On deadline day, the only starting option the Blue Jays came away with was Mitch White, acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers along with IF Alex De Jesus for minor league pitchers Nick Frasso and Moise Brito.
White, 27, has a 117 ERA+ during his three-year career in the majors, working in a combo role for the Dodgers. He has been getting deeper into games lately, and the Blue Jays could give him a shot at becoming a league-average, back-of-the-rotation regular for them. He feels like a younger version of what the Blue Jays already have in Ross Stripling, another ex-Dodger, so his role might continue to be of the hybrid sort.
Toronto also landed a couple of arms for the bullpen in a deal with the Miami Marlins for righties Anthony Bass and Zach Pop. The Blue Jays gave up 2018 first-round pick Jordan Groshans in the deal, which could sting down the line.
Bass had been dynamite for the Marlins, posting a 1.41 ERA over 45 outings and allowing just one homer all season. He posted a 3.51 ERA over 26 outings for the Jays in 2020, so he will return to familiar surroundings. He should have a chance to fill a key setup role in Toronto's bullpen behind Jordan Romano.
Pop is a native of Canada who has bounced back and forth from the minors the past couple of seasons with Miami. He has generally been used in lower-leverage spots. But he is 6-foot-4 and throws a hard, low-spin sinker, so maybe he will deepen the Jays' pen.
The grade below is strictly for the Merrifield swap. If we were grading the day as a whole, we're probably talking C-plus.
Grade: B-
You can only really judge the Royals for their return on this deal, not what they might have gotten if they had moved Merrifield when he was at the peak of his value a few years ago. While I get the argument, I also believe there is something to the identity and brand of a franchise in maintaining at least some continuity during a rebuild. Maybe the Royals went too far with Merrifield, but I don't really fault them for it.
As for this deal, Taylor, 24, is the bigger get out of the Blue Jays system. A speed guy with developing power, Taylor was acquired by Toronto from Cleveland back in 2017. (Cleveland drafted him in the 10th round in 2016.)
ESPN's Kiley McDaniel rated Taylor as a 35+ future value prospect before the season. He is the kind of quick and speedy competitor the Royals have always liked. He just needs to get the bat on the ball in order to let his speed and pop on contact play. Defensively, he has moved around a lot and profiles as a utility guy.
Castillo is a 23-year-old righty out of Venezuela who reached the majors for the first time with Toronto this season. He throws a four-seamer with average velocity and below-average spin, and he complements that with a changeup that has had promising metrics during his brief time in the show.
Not a ranked prospect, Castillo adds some organizational depth in a Royals system that needs all the arms it can get.