Better Know Your Blue Jays 40-Man: Myles Straw

Myles Straw is a 31-year-old, right-handed hitting, center fielder. The Jays traded for him on January 17th, 2025. We got Myles Straw and some international bonus pool money money. At the time we thought/hoped the money would go to Roki Sasaki. Unfortunately, Roki went to the Dodgers and the Jays had to pretend they wanted Straw.

I said, at the time that the fun part of the trade was trying to explain to casual fans that the Jays took Straw to get $3.75 million in international bonus money. A casual fan knows that $3.75 million isn’t much money in baseball terms. But explaining that international bonus money is a different kind on money takes many many words (and pictures, sock puppets…..). I’ll never get that time back.

Straw had played 152 games for the Guardians with a 2.7 bWAR in 2022. Then 147 games with a 0.9 bWAR in 2023 and then 7 games with a bWAR that no one would care about because he only played 7 games in 2024.

Straw made $6.4 million last year, will make $7.4 million this season and has options for the next two seasons, with buyouts for $2.25 million. I only list that because the Jays aren’t going to pick up the options. They may decide they want to keep him but they will decline the options and try to sign him for less.

Surprisingly, to me at least, Straw ended up on the Jays active roster and stayed there through the season.

And he was good. Very good really. He hit .262/.313/.367 with 4 home runs, and 12 stolen bases. But most of his value was from his defense. FanGraphs has him at a +9 outs above average. That 9 outs above average puts him 10th in the MLB among outfielders, and every one above him had many more defensive innings. Several of them more than 50% more innings.

Of course, Daulton Varsho missed a lot of playing time and Straw played more center field that I’d expect him to this year. I’m hoping Varsho doesn’t have to miss half the season with injuries. I’m expecting Straw to play far less.

Steamer thinks Straw will only play in 40 games this year and hit .231/.294/.310 with 1 home run and 5 steals for a 0.1 fWAR. That would have been a fair estimate last year, had Varsho not been injured. I have no clue how much playing time Straw will get this year. We are deep in outfielders. So deep that I have a hard time figuring how the team can keep Nathan Lukes on the roster. And I like Lukes a lot more than I like Straw.

Do you use Straw as the right-handed side of a platoon with Varsho in center? Do you use Straw as a fifth outfielder?

Right now the Jays have Daulton Varsho, Addison Barger, Jesús Sánchez, Davis Schneider, Nathan Lukes and George Springer available to play outfield. Who do you drop to give playing time to Straw?