Blue Jays’ Myles Straw back to having ‘fun’ on the field

TORONTO — John Schneider remembers a key conversation he had with Myles Straw at the outset of spring training. 

The Toronto Blue Jays manager placed Straw in Group B among the club’s outfielders, a section usually consisting of younger players with less experience. Straw, though, was anything but. 

At 30 years old, he’d played in more than 550 games across parts of seven big-league seasons, so Schneider felt the need to talk with Straw to let him know that it didn’t signify his standing within the organization’s pecking order. 

“It has no meaning on your chances to make the team,” Schneider recalled telling him. 

Straw hasn’t forgotten the chat either and says it helped him settle in with his new club.

“I listened to what he said, and it was very transparent,” Straw said during batting practice on Tuesday afternoon at Rogers Centre. “Obviously, I made the team. He told me not to worry about it and so I didn’t really have any expectations coming in. Just wanted to have fun and try to prove to myself what I could do.”

Straw is certainly proving a lot to himself these days. He’s been a pleasant surprise 18 games into the campaign and has provided value in every facet — with his glove, bat and speed. Consider this: Straw has already produced 0.6 wins above replacement, per Baseball Reference. Of course, the sample size is incredibly small, but his tally is still more than every position player on the team outside of Andres Gimenez (0.7 WAR) and George Springer (0.8).

That kind of impact was hard to envision back in January when Straw was traded to Toronto from Cleveland for $2 million in international bonus-pool space. The Blue Jays wanted to improve their chances of acquiring Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki, and absorbing the $11 million committed to Straw in order to do so brought a heavy dose of criticism. Sasaki ultimately chose the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Straw was coming off a 2024 season in which he spent most of the year struggling in triple-A. 

During that time with the Columbus Clippers of the International League, Straw said he fell into a “bad spot.”

“I almost feel like I lost some love for the game,” he added. “And when you start doing that, the game doesn’t give love back to you.”

It was a tough place to be, especially since Straw had experienced success at the major league level before. He was traded from Houston to Cleveland in 2021 and combined for a .271/.349/.348 slash line with 29 doubles, 30 stolen bases and 3.3 bWAR that season. Then, the next year, he won a Gold Glove as the starting centre-fielder for a Guardians club that advanced to the American League Division Series. 

Such success evaded Straw over the next two campaigns, so the trade to the Blue Jays offered him a chance to reset. When he arrived at the club’s player development complex in Dunedin, Fla., earlier this year, there were familiar faces in former teammates Gimenez and Nick Sandlin, but others in the clubhouse also welcomed him. Straw says that offered an immediate sense of comfort. 

“You’re not walking on eggshells,” said Straw. “When I was in spring, I felt like I’ve been here for a year or two already. Guys like Vladdy and Bo, the leaders, and even the relievers, the pitchers, everybody, just coming up and talking to me a lot helped. The whole comfort thing is a big deal in baseball.” 

That comfort has translated into on-field results, too. Straw raved about his work with Blue Jays hitting coach David Popkins and assistants Lou Iannotti and Hunter Mense and says their messaging to him has been refreshing. The trio worked on some small mechanical changes with Straw during spring training but mostly encouraged him to be more athletic in the batter’s box and less in his head. 

“At times I can get too stiff and start thinking about things too much,” said Straw. “And then you start thinking in the box instead of just becoming competitive. It takes certain things away. (Now, my focus is) just go up there and get a good pitch to hit and get your best swing off.” 

That mentality has paid early dividends for Straw. He’s flashed a steady plate approach and has 11 hits — including one homer and two doubles — in 29 at-bats.  Straw has received plenty of playing time due to the absence of regular centre-fielder Daulton Varsho, who’s been rehabbing his right shoulder in Florida after off-season surgery. 

Varsho is set to begin a rehab assignment in the coming days but even when he returns, Straw will still be counted on. Schneider acknowledged that Varsho could occasionally slot in as the designated hitter, which would mean that Straw would man centre. He could also get into games as a late-inning replacement in left or right field. 

“I think that behind Daulton, he’s probably our best outfielder anywhere,” said Schneider. “He’s pretty damn good out there.”

His elite skills were on display Tuesday night as Straw showed off impressive range to chase down a few balls hit to the right-centre field gap. While he’s always taken pride in his defence, Straw says he’s actually begun to relish the other side of his game, too. 

“The last couple of years, it used to be defence was so fun and you’d come and hit and it was just kind of like a competitive thing,” said Straw. “Now, I look forward to at-bats, which is how it should be. Hitting should be fun.”

Fun has been the operative word for Straw so far in 2025. He’s come a long way from where he was last year, mired in the minors and mourning the love that was missing from his job. 

“I’m having the most fun I probably had in my career,” he said. “I’m happy to be here no matter what, whether I’m playing or not. I look forward to helping the team win that day and it’s just fun. It’s fun to be around these guys every day.”

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