Daulton Varsho isn't spending his week worrying about Monday's deadline, even with his own name attached to the rumors.
"We're still in it," Varsho said, insisting he isn't thinking about the trade deadline despite being named alongside Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber and George Springer as pending Blue Jays trade candidates.
Varsho hits free agency after this season, and with Toronto seven games under .500 even after Saturday's 5-1 win over St. Louis, he's very much on the market regardless of how he feels about it.
"I still think we're a really good team," Varsho said before that win, Toronto's fourth in five games. "Like on paper we're still a really good team. We've just got to go out there and prove it every game."
The numbers make that case harder to argue. Toronto entered Saturday tied with Cleveland for dead last in the majors in runs scored at 433.
Varsho points to quality of contact as the real reason for optimism.
"I just look at the amount of hard contact that we have," Varsho said. "The more hard contact we have the better position we put ourselves in, because the more quality at-bats we have the more games you can possibly win."
Why the underlying numbers tell a different story
Toronto ranked next-to-last in average exit velocity at 87.8 mph entering Saturday, with only two teams recording a lower hard-hit percentage and fewer barreled balls.
Even in Saturday's win, Toronto managed just six hard-hit balls out of 31 balls in play, hardly the kind of contact quality Varsho's optimism suggests.
Unlike Varsho, Springer holds real control over his own fate given his 10-and-5 rights.
"I'm here. I love this team, I love this organization, and so far as I know I'm here," Springer said when asked if the front office had shared any deadline plans.
Varsho lit up describing Springer's influence over their four seasons together.
"He's one of the best," Varsho said. "He's taught me a lot about myself and just what it means to be a leader. He's kind of the best at it. I've never seen somebody go 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and be able to go into the clubhouse and it's just, all right, move on."
Varsho, now a father to a 15-month-old daughter, has found real perspective away from the noise.
"When I go home, I can shut my job brain off and I can be a dad," Varsho said. "If it happens, it happens. Not gonna worry about it until it does."
Do you believe Daulton Varsho that the Blue Jays are still a good team on paper?
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