TORONTO – Around this time last 12 months, Myles Straw was considering retiring from skilled baseball on the age of 29.
He’d spent the complete season as much as that time playing for the triple-A Columbus Clippers, the minor-league affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, after clearing outright waivers in March 2024. If Straw wasn’t going to be playing in the key leagues, he’d moderately be specializing in his home life.
“I didn’t want to actually play baseball anymore. I used to be almost through with it,” Straw told reporters on Sunday. “I assumed of my daughter loads.
“I just desired to be with family, but I knew there was more left within the tank.”
Straw was a September call-up to the Guardians on Sept. 17, playing in seven games with one hit and two runs in 4 at-bats. He was then traded to Toronto on Jan. 17, together with money and international signing pool space, in exchange for a player to be named later.
The deal wasn’t really about Straw, because the Blue Jays gave the impression to be getting that bonus pool space to attempt to land Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki, however the free agent selected the Los Angeles Dodgers as a substitute.
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Straw, nonetheless, saw it as a chance to revitalize his profession, especially after a phone call with Toronto hitting coach David Popkins shortly after the trade was done.
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“I remember him just talking to me and pumping some confidence into me, and we had some good talks then,” said Straw, who had a .462 batting average for the Blue Jays in Grapefruit League play. “Attending to spring training and being near home, that was a superb start.
“Just form of attending to know the team and the blokes made it enjoyable. I’m thankful that I’m here.”
Straw made the Blue Jays’ major-league roster to begin the season and has been an everyday in Toronto’s outfield, filling in for centre-fielder Daulton Varsho all year long and making appearances in left and right field and sometimes even at second base.
“It’s a luxury to not have Dalton Varsho and to throw Myles Straw in centre field, who form of is a right-handed version of Varsh,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider on Saturday.
Straw made a highlight-reel catch in the primary inning on Milwaukee Brewers star Jackson Chourio and went 3-for-3 on the plate, while Varsho had the break day after getting hit in his right hand by a pitch.
“That’s (Straw) in a nutshell: playing defence, three hits, running the bases the best way he did. He’s been so consistent this 12 months,” Schneider said.
Straw is hitting .272 with 4 home runs, 30 runs batted in and 11 stolen bases over 116 games this season. He’s a profession .248 hitter with a complete of 10 homers, 155 RBIs and 100 stolen bases.
This 12 months’s numbers are on pace to match or higher his 162-game average over eight seasons with the Houston Astros, Cleveland and Toronto.
Most impressive is his Wins Above Alternative, a stat that measures a player’s value in all facets of the sport, including defence — Straw’s specialty — by deciphering what number of more wins he’s price than a replacement-level player at the identical position.
Straw is at 2.9 thus far this season, his highest WAR since 2021, when he reached 3.3 splitting time in Houston and Cleveland. Only stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (4.1), George Springer (3.4), and Bo Bichette (3.2) have higher WAR for the Blue Jays this 12 months.
“There’s nothing that I don’t appreciate,” said Straw on his profession’s revitalization in Toronto. “Everyone’s great here. The individuals are amazing. The team’s great. The coaches, the front office, our chefs, our security guards.
“I mean, there’s probably not a foul a part of the stadium where you walk in and also you’re like, ‘Oh, this sucks.’”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press