Toronto Blue Jays trade Will Wagner for San Diego Padres catcher
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The Toronto Blue Jays have traded infielder Will Wagner for San Diego Padres catcher Brandon Valenzuela.
The Blue Jays announce they have acquired C Brandon Valenzuela from the Padres for INF Will Wagner (son of new Hall of Famer Billy Wagner)
OFFICIAL: We've acquired C Brandon Valenzuela from the Padres in exchange for INF Will Wagner. Welcome to our Blue Jays family!
Brandon Valenzuela isn't on the Padres' 40-man, so moving Will Wagner here creates a 40-man spot while adding some catching depth. Padres added Fermin earlier so they had catching to spare.
Wagner made his MLB debut last season, and impressed by hitting .305/.337/.451 over his first 86 plate appearances in the Show.
The offense hasn't been there this year, as Wagner has batted only .237/.336/.298 in 132 PA while playing mostly third and first base in part-time duty.
Wagner was primarily a second baseman in 2024 and throughout his minor league career, so he brings some multi-positional versatility to San Diego's infield.
He is a left-handed hitter, adding to a bevy of lefty-swinging bats on the Padres' current roster, but naturally there's plenty in flux on what has been a very busy deadline day in San Diego.
It is very easy to imagine more moves taking place to further shake up the Friars' 26-man roster, but Wagner also has three minor league options remaining, so the Padres could easily move him to Triple-A as depth.
Valenzuela is a switch-hitting catcher at AA who has big caught stealing rates.
Jays are going to have a 40-man crunch and could use org C depth, so turning Wagner into a non-40 man C.
Not the headline item of the day, certainly. Preller just can't go 5 minutes without a T.
Jays are going to have a 40-man crunch and could use org C depth, so turning Wagner into a non-40 man C.
Not the headline item of the day, certainly. Preller just can't go 5 minutes without a T.
The 24-year-old Valenzuela is in his seventh year of pro ball, and he has hit .229/.313/.387 over 374 PA with Double-A San Antonio this season.
This is his third straight season of Double-A action, as a 27-game stint in Triple-A last year saw Valenzuela struggle at the plate, and it was enough to convince the Padres to bump him down a level for more seasoning.
MLB Pipeline ranked Valenzuela as San Diego's 26th-best minor league, noting that his hitting is his biggest question mark but his overall defense is very strong.
Previously on Blue Jays Central
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 31 | 374 ANSWERS Toronto Blue Jays trade Will Wagner for San Diego Padres catcher Is infielder Will Wagner for catcher Brandon Valenzuela a good trade for the Blue Jays | ||
| Yes | 190 | 50.8 % |
| No | 93 | 24.9 % |
| Too early to tell | 91 | 24.3 % |
| List of polls | ||