The Toronto Blue Jays are boosting their infield depth, trading for a former top MLB prospect who has been tearing through Triple-A this season.
The Blue Jays landed veteran Luis Urias from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for cash considerations, a move that could help the AL East team in their quest to return to the World Series.
Blue Jays Add Depth to Their Infield
As Lou Landers of The Big Lead noted, Urias was ranked as the second-best second base prospect by MLB Pipeline in 2018 and among the top-20 for the entire league.
“There was a time when Urías was viewed as one of the most promising young infielders in baseball,” Landers wrote. “After signing with the San Diego Padres as an international free agent in 2013, he quickly climbed through the minor league system. His breakout came as a teenager when he won both the batting title and MVP honors in the California League at just 19 years old.”
Sportsnet noted that Urias has plenty of MLB experience as well, giving the Blue Jays some trusted depth in their infield.
“Urias is an eight-year MLB veteran who hasn’t been able to crack the Diamondbacks’ big-league roster this season,” the report noted. “He’s previously played for the San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners and the Athletics. He had a slash line of .230/.315/.338 with eight homers in 96 games with the Athletics in 2025.”
Urias is in the midst of a strong season with Triple-A Reno, hitting .361/.393/.546 with 3 home runs in 27 games.
The veteran infielder could have an immediate impact with the Blue Jays. Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith reported that Urias is expected to join Toronto’s big-league club after exercising an upward mobility clause.
Blue Jays Notch Big Win
The Blue Jays took a major step forward just hours after landing Urias, scoring eight unanswered runs to beat the Chicago Cubs. The Blue Jays face down a five-run deficit in the game before coming back to win 8-6.
“I love the way they battled,” manager John Schneider said, via MLB.com. “Yesterday’s game sucked. We get run out of here pretty good, then you get down 5-0 after the homer from Pete [Crow-Armstrong]. But they’re not going to quit, and today was a good one.”
Daulton Varsho hit the go-ahead home run, a three-run blast that put them up 5-3 in the seventh inning.
“Vars’ homer was huge there,” Schneider said. “It kind of got us going. It allows you to get off in the game and try to keep it close.”
The Blue Jays also got a big performance from reliever Louis Varland, who came in with the bases loaded in the eighth inning and gave up just one run. He returned to close out the ninth inning, drawing on his experience from the World Series last year.
“You still got a three-run lead,” Varland said of his mindset. “One pitch at a time. I pitched in the World Series, and nothing tops that. Although the crowd was loud, I just got tunnel vision and I’m able to block out the crowd.”
MLB Trade: Blue Jays Land Former Top Prospect Amid Monster Season