Blue Jays' Myles Straw is quietly the best fourth outfielder in baseball
Photo credit: https://www.mlb.com/
In his first year with the Toronto Blue jays, Myles Straw has proven that he is more than worthy of roaming the outfield at Rogers Centre.
Blue Jays fans and pundits were critical of the Toronto's decision to take on Straw's contract, given that the team was unable to sign Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki.
Straw struggled over the past few seasons and was waived by the Cleveland Guardians early in the 2024 campaign.
Expectations weren't particularly high for Straw to emerge as a valuable contributor for the Blue Jays heading into 2025.
Fast forward a few months, and Straw has become the perfect depth piece for a contending ball club.
Myles Straw on the #BlueJays and his season:
"I talk to guys about how special this team is, how great this city is ... It's been a blast here. I love this place. I love the people. I love everything about it. I don't take a day for granted here. I love everything about it.»
Straw has produced his best offensive season since 2021, while also providing elite defensive play in whatever outfield spot he's been asked to patrol.
"I talk to guys about how special this team is, how great this city is ... It's been a blast here. I love this place. I love the people. I love everything about it. I don't take a day for granted here. I love everything about it.»
Straw has produced his best offensive season since 2021, while also providing elite defensive play in whatever outfield spot he's been asked to patrol.
The 30-year-old ranks in the 96th percentile in Baseball Savant's outs above average metric and is tied for 12th among all MLB fielders with 14 defensive runs saved.
Myles Straw had 8 career home runs across 664 games entering today. He's hit 2 homers in the first 3 innings!
On Saturday afternoon Myles Straw reached another milestone, as he took back a home run from Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio. A perfectly timed jump at the wall in center field to pick the ball off the very top edge.
It's the first time Straw has ever robbed a home run in his career. This is something Straw has joked about in the past with Varsho.
Jackson Chourio gets robbed by Myles Straw in his first at bat back from the IL!
"I've never had a homer robbed from me before,» Chourio said in Spanish after the Brewers beat the Blue Jays, 4-1. «So, I don't know, it was weird. Because I said, 'Man, they just took that hit away from me.' But honestly, I felt good, because I knew I'd seen the ball well and I'd made good contact."
Straw has accumulated 1.5 WAR, according to FanGraphs, and 2.3 WAR, per Baseball Reference.
Most models calculate one win above replacement as being worth $8 million.
That means Straw has been well worth his $6.4 million salary this season, and the Blue Jays probably feel fine about the prospect of having Straw on the books for $7.4 million in 2026 if he's able to produce anything approaching the value he's shown this year.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 31 | 209 ANSWERS Blue Jays' Myles Straw is quietly the best fourth outfielder in baseball Do you think Myles Straw is the best fourth outfielder in baseball? | ||
| Yes | 182 | 87.1 % |
| No | 19 | 9.1 % |
| Too early to tell | 8 | 3.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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