ESPN’s Schoenfield list Daulton Varsho to Diamondbacks as top potential trade domino

With the MLB trade deadline on Aug. 3 approaching, ESPN’s David Schoenfield has the Arizona Diamondbacks potentially trading for a left-handed batter — a familiar player for D-backs fans.

Schoenfield listed the Toronto Blue Jays trading center fielder Daulton Varsho to the Diamondbacks as the ninth-best potential trade domino of the 2026 MLB trade deadline.

Varsho spent three seasons with the D-backs (2020-22) as an outfielder, designated hitter and catcher. During his time in Arizona, Varsho played in 283 games, hitting .234 with 41 home runs and 121 RBIs.

Following the 2022 season, he was traded to Toronto in a deal that sent Gabriel Moreno and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. to Arizona.

In four seasons with the Blue Jays, Varsho has played in 461 games and has hit .227 with 65 home runs and 200 RBIs.

The trade has looked like a win for both teams, given Moreno and Gurriel were key contributors to the D-backs during their run to the 2023 World Series, while Varsho was a key player on the Blue Jays’ 2025 team that reached that year’s Fall Classic. Varsho hit .227 with three home runs and 10 RBIs during the postseason last year.

In 96 games this season, Varsho has slashed .247/.308/.383 with seven home runs and 26 RBIs.

How much of a fit would Daulton Varsho be on this Diamondbacks team?

Varsho certainly would fit a need as a left-handed batter given the D-backs’ lack of pure left-handed batters in the lineup.

Schoenfield said he could provide them another option at center field given how many players have played the position this year. Rookie Ryan Waldschmidt has been getting starts at the position, where Jordan Lawlar, Tommy Troy, Jorge Barrosa and Tim Tawa have also seen reps. Troy and Lawlar are currently on the injured list.

The Diamondbacks have played themselves into a wild-card position and could use both a hitter and a starting pitcher. Varsho looks like the right fit for them, as they’ve started four different players in center field just in July.

Beyond being a DH option, Varsho has experience in left field, a position that could become a need if the D-backs reach the postseason. The D-backs added left fielder Max Kepler in June, and while he’s been a steady contributor in the lineup recently, he will be ineligible for the postseason after missing the first 80 games of the season while serving a performance-enhancing drug suspension. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. is on the injured list.

Varsho is playing on a one-year, $10.75 million deal. Acquiring him could be complicated, depending on how much money he is owed for the rest of the season. Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro reported Wednesday the D-backs are only $6-7 million away from facing luxury tax penalties and do not want to exceed it.

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