Yesterday, the Blue Jays traded outfielder Teoscar Hernandez for a reliever and a 40 future value prospect. It was interesting insofar as Hernandez is a good player who has a 132 wRC+ in his last three seasons. Typically not a move a contending team makes. Especially since they aren’t especially deep in the outfield. They have three legit starters there, but I’m not seeing much depth behind them after the trade. And George Springer has had some injury issues the past few seasons.
Given the light return, I suspect money is the main motivator. Hernandez is set to make $14 million in 2023.