Toronto Sports Today

Toronto Sports News Continuously Updated

How each piece from Yusei Kikuchi trade could impact Blue Jays’ 2025 roster

by

It wasn’t supposed to go this way for the Toronto Blue Jays, who’ll spend the rest of this season playing competitive-less baseball while looking to see what they have internally before charting their off-season plans. With the youth movement in full effect, there’s no shortage of players hoping to make an impression for 2025.

This franchise sold off roughly 30 per cent of its major-league assets at last month’s trade deadline, creating several holes that have since been filled by minor-league players from triple-A. One trade that’s helped fill out the roster is the Yusei Kikuchi deal, which brought back outfielder Joey Loperfido, infielder Will Wagner (son of Billy Wagner) and right-hander Jake Bloss from the Houston Astros.

Two of those three have already debuted with the Blue Jays, while Kikuchi has made two starts — three after Tuesday — with his new team in that time. And there’s a solid chance that all three pieces they received for the hard-throwing left-hander will have played in the majors with this organization by the end of the season.

Just think about that for a second. Toronto traded two-plus months of Kikuchi for three prospects, all of whom they’ll likely have a chance to watch perform at this level in 2024. Not only that, but that trio could potentially outperform the Astros’ newly acquired starter in terms of fWAR the rest of the way.

Kikuchi, for example, has accounted for 0.2 fWAR thus far, while the combination of Loperfido and Wagner has combined for minus-0.1 fWAR. That’s without including Bloss, whose workload is currently being monitored with triple-A Buffalo.

The Blue Jays front office did incredibly well for a rental starter, and even then, that might not be giving them enough credit for, as of now, seemingly fleecing the Astros. But the bigger question is where might these pieces fit into place for 2025 and beyond.

OF Joey Loperfido

Considering Loperfido’s Blue Jays debut came first, we should probably begin with the left-handed-hitting outfielder.

Left field appears to be where he’ll earn most of his reps, and rightly so since he logged the majority of his innings (147.1) at that position with the Astros earlier this season. It’s also where there’ll likely be more opportunities available, with Daulton Varsho and George Springer playing regularly in centre and right, respectively.

Loperfido’s main competition for playing time in left field is Davis Schneider, who’s hit .167/.244/.253 and posted a 44 wRC+ since June 3. That duo will likely share the bulk of the at-bats over these final seven weeks, with matchup splits heavily influencing the coaching staff’s lineup decisions.

Though to be fair, Loperfido has also struggled at the plate, striking out in nearly 50 per cent of his 37 plate appearances since joining Toronto, while recording only four hits (three singles).

But he’s helped make up for those offensive woes with his defence, already recording plus-two defensive runs saved and plus-one outs above average across 71.1 innings in left, where he’s showcased his 89th-percentile sprint speed (28.9 feet per second).

In the brief time that Loperfido has donned blue and white, the 25-year-old has displayed all the tools necessary to develop into a capable big-league outfielder, and there’s certainly room for more, particularly with his bat.

Cutting down on the swing-and-miss needs to be a priority, especially in the upper quadrants of the strike zone. Still, the young lefty features a ton of power potential that led to a .568 SLG and a .296 ISO at triple-A earlier this season, and each of those metrics still ranks inside the top 10 of the Pacific Coast League among hitters with at least 150 plate appearances. He also sits tied for first in barrel rate (18 per cent) throughout the triple-A level.

The Blue Jays could surely use some of that thump in their lineup next season, preferably within the middle of the order. But, whether or not Loperfido can be relied upon to deliver in that role as early as 2025 remains uncertain. That’s part of what makes this current “try-out” window so critical.

They need to discover if he can be slotted into a meaningful role. If the answer is no, management will either have to use a mix of options in left field — including Loperfido, Schneider and likely Jonatan Clase — or shore up that position externally this winter.

INF Will Wagner

Wagner was regarded as the lesser of the three prospects acquired for Kikuchi. But you certainly wouldn’t have gathered that by watching the 26-year-old’s memorable major league debut in Anaheim a night ago.

The left-handed-hitting infielder went three-for-four with a double and a run batted in, showcasing all the traits that make him a prototypical Blue Jays prospect. He hits for contact, gets on base with regularity, earns more walks than strikeouts and plays multiple positions — checking every box.

Spencer Horwitz shares a very similar hitting profile. However, there may be a bit more pop in Wagner’s, given the power upside and encouraging hard-contact output he displayed in the minors. Not to mention, all four of his batted balls versus the Angels on Monday came off his bat at 97 m.p.h. or harder, with his max exit velo hitting 105.9.

What makes him stand out is, by far, his immense knowledge of the strike zone. In 77 games split between Houston and Toronto’s triple-A affiliates, he’s excelled to a .432 OBP that sits fourth among qualified hitters (min. 250 plate appearances). Additionally, his 10.4-per-cent strikeout rate is tied for sixth-lowest at that level while his 14.5-per-cent whiff rate is tied for eighth-lowest.

Deciding Wagner’s defensive position is arguably the biggest challenge Toronto faces. With Houston, most of his time came at first base this season, although that’s to be expected when trying to break into a major-league infield that already includes Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve and Jeremy Peña.

Much of his deployment has occurred at second base since joining the Blue Jays organization, and as he proved Monday night, his glove certainly plays on the right side of the diamond.

There’s plenty of uncertainty regarding Wagner’s arm strength on the left side, particularly at third base, a position he’s also split time at in 2024. But perhaps there’s a path forward as a utility infielder, and maybe he’s able to fulfill the type of expectations that former Blue Jay Cavan Biggio previously set during the early stages of his big-league career.

RHP Jake Bloss

We may not see Bloss in the majors until September call-ups arrive, especially with how Bowden Francis has performed recently. Having said that, the Blue Jays will certainly want to have him face major-league hitters as they evaluate their 2025 pitching depth — whether they have to temporarily shift to a six-man rotation or use him in spot starts.

In the meantime, the 23-year-old righty’s development is expected to continue at triple-A Buffalo, where he made his organizational debut last weekend. It was an abbreviated outing, lasting just 2.2 innings. Though, chances are that could be a sign of things to come during what’s been a fast-tracked first full season of professional baseball.

This time last year, Bloss was preparing to make his single-A debut following a pair of Complex League starts. Now, he’s getting settled with a new organization in a year that’s seen him climb three minor-league levels (high-A, double-A, triple-A) and make a trio of big-league starts due to the Astros’ rash of starting pitching injuries.

But, as much as Bloss has been tested this season, there are many reasons why Houston felt comfortable fast-tracking his development. One was surely his advanced maturity on the mound. Another is how he attacks the strike zone consistently with his 86th-percentile pitch extension (6.9 feet).

Bloss profiles as a location-over-stuff pitcher, as evidenced by the 104 Location+ and 91 Stuff+ he registered in those three big-league starts earlier this season. He doesn’t throw hard and still needs to work on creating additional swing-and-miss with his breaking balls (slider, curveball, sweeper), but he limits walks and hard contact consistently

With a few mechanical clean-ups and pitch usage adjustments, the third-round selection from last year’s draft presents a quality option — along with Francis and Yariel Rodríguez — behind Toronto’s core of Kevin Gausman, José Berríos and Chris Bassitt.