Daulton Varsho shocked by trade but happy to be joining Blue Jays 'family'

New Blue Jays outfielder Daulton Varsho spoke to the media on Saturday to discuss the experience of being traded, what he feels he can bring to the team, and the important role his father has played in shaping his career.

Video Transcript

- The first question here is, what was your initial reaction to learning you were traded and I guess the destination that you're coming to, joining the Blue Jays?

DAULTON VARSHO: Yeah, I mean, right away when my GM called, it was kind of more just a little bit of a shocking experience of first time ever getting traded. And it's just like you think that you're going to stay at that one spot your whole career. And usually that never happens.

So I'm glad I had family here to kind of be able to help me through. I mean, my dad got traded. So he knows exactly the feeling. I mean, he was with the Cubs for a long time and going to Pittsburgh. But it was one of the greatest things for him.

And so I'm thinking the same thing. I'm coming to this winning team here in Toronto. And it's going to be a lot of fun. A lot of the guys already reached out to me. And it's already making me feel at home of being together with this great group.

- And obviously, you played with Arizona, and you came up with them. So you don't really cross paths a lot with the Blue Jays. Do you know any of the guys? Or what kind of things initially do you know about the team? And what makes you excited joining them, beyond them just being a winning team?

DAULTON VARSHO: Yeah, I mean, they're kind of like a young group like we were in Arizona. But they have a little bit more time and experience all around. They've just got a good all around team. And facing a couple of guys who went over there with Kevin Grossman, I mean, it's just-- I know what they have there to be able to do a lot of things and make it special.

And I think it's a very fun group. I mean, Bo Bichette texted me this morning, welcomed me to the team. And it's just pretty cool, all those little things. It means a lot to me because it creates a little family bond, which is a big thing for me.

- Awesome. Merry Christmas, and nice to meet you.

DAULTON VARSHO: Nice to meet you.

- OK, Ethan?

ETHAN DIAMANDIS: Hey, Daulton, thanks for taking the time. Ethan Diamandis with "Sports Illustrated." For you, around the league, you kind of have a reputation as a guy who goes all in every time he kind of takes the field. I'm curious, just what's your mindset every time you step on the field?

DAULTON VARSHO: Yeah, so my mindset's always fast and physical. I think that's a little bit-- parlays with my football background of playing football growing up. I didn't like to play things slow. So if I'm going after a baseball, it's like I'm going full head of steam. And I'm going to do anything that I can to help this team out.

And whether it's running the bases well, playing the outfield, going hard, I'm always going to take care of my team. And I think it's just pretty cool to kind of represent that way. And I learned a lot of those things from my dad.

ETHAN DIAMANDIS: And obviously, you start in the big leagues as a catcher. You've always played some outfield. But your transition to the outfield in 2022 was particularly effective, I guess. What helped you make that transition to become kind of an elite defender?

DAULTON VARSHO: Yeah, so I got transitioned a little bit to outfield in 2019 when I was in Jackson in AA. And there was a guy there, a player named Evan Marzilli. And he helped me out a lot, of just taking the time of going through of what could help me of learning how to read balls off the bat a whole lot better. And he just took the time as an older guy in AA to kind of sit down and have those little discussions with me.

And it kind of improved my outfield play from that year. And it just kind of kept correlating of learning little things and tips from there from other guys and just understanding what I can do better in the outfield every day to try to figure out a routine to-- how do I get that ball in the gap a little bit easier? And so it's just taking those things from other guys and having a better mindset of what I can do to better further myself out there.

ETHAN DIAMANDIS: Thanks, happy holidays.

DAULTON VARSHO: You too.

- You're up, Mike.

MIKE WILNER: Hi, Daulton, Mike Wilner from "The Toronto Star." Nice to meet you. Welcome to Toronto. I'm wondering first about-- we've been told that you're going to be primarily the left fielder for the Jays. You played a lot of right last year and some center as well. How do you feel about moving to that other corner for a year at least?

DAULTON VARSHO: Yeah, I think it's another challenge. And I always enjoy those because it just puts a little bit more effort and a lot more work into understanding what I can do out there. And so I'm ready for it. I mean, it's going to be a lot of fun in understanding different routes and different swings on my end. And I'm just ready for that challenge to be able to dominate that and be able to master it.

MIKE WILNER: You talked about the shock of being traded for the first time. There have been so many stories about the Diamondbacks have so many left-handed hitting center fielders. The Blue Jays have catching. These two teams are a great fit for a trade over the course of the offseason. Did you see something like this coming, or did it catch you completely by surprise?

DAULTON VARSHO: I mean, it kind of caught me a little bit by surprise. I mean, I saw a couple of the rumors. And my dad actually mentioned that it would probably be a good fit. But I didn't really ever think that it was really going to happen. And when it happened, I got a little shocked.

But now I've been around, talking with the guys and talking with the staff. It's going to be a great fit for me and my family. And I'm just excited to be able to be a part of it. And it's going to be a lot of fun.

MIKE WILNER: Thanks, and have a good Christmas.

DAULTON VARSHO: Thank you, you too.

- You're up, Ben.

BEN WAGNER: Hi, Daulton, Ben Wagner from the radio broadcast with the Blue Jays. I was curious, how much conversation in the short term have you had about how your defensive assignments might be laid out? And how much coaching has been in conversation with you and the Blue Jays?

DAULTON VARSHO: I just talked with Ross the other day. And he said that it's going to be mainly playing center and left. So those are the two positions that they were aiming at for me to kind of be playing at.

BEN WAGNER: Great. What kind of influence has your dad had on your playing career, baseball-wise?

DAULTON VARSHO: He's the guy I go to every day. He's the one that I kind of just am able to bounce some things off. And he's been there from the beginning to the end of understanding my swing and understanding an adjustment and helping me out with outfield play and understanding of just kind of the little things that go on with everyday game because there's not really many people who are going to understand of going through a 162-game season and understanding the ebbs and flows and understanding what that's all like.

So it's nice to have that resource of always having him and being able to bounce some things off and kind of having a different perspective on the game.

BEN WAGNER: If I can follow up with one more too on the heels of that, are the conversations as you as a current Major Leaguer different from the perspective of, hey, this is a player conversation versus your dad and all the experiences he has as a manager and a coach for all those years?

DAULTON VARSHO: Definitely. I mean, I think him knowing kind of the ins and outs of the game going from being a player to being a bench coach and going to be like a scout and a coordinator, he kind of has a little bit of different of a background to kind of help me out with different ways. But that doesn't say that I only bounce those things off of him. I bounce them off our coaches.

And it's being able to have that good conversation of just-- it's just baseball of having a better idea of what's going to work for you might not work for somebody else. And so it's pretty cool that I can have those resources and have the ability to bounce things off different ways.

BEN WAGNER: All right, thank you.

- And Mike?

MIKE WILNER: Sorry, circling back again, Daulton, I just wanted to ask you about being part of that outfield in Arizona. You had, at times, Alek Thomas. You had Corbin Carroll. You had you. And now it seems like the Blue Jays have really concentrated on putting together what appears to be an exceptional defensive outfield.

What was it like to be a part of that? And how much did that affect-- I know the Diamondbacks didn't have a ton of success. But how much did that affect the success of the pitching when you guys were out there?

DAULTON VARSHO: Yeah, I think the pitchers relied on getting a little bit more contact instead of having to always just strike everybody out. So I think it kind of gave them the confidence of being able to throw the ball over the plate and trusting that our outfielders were going to be able to go catch it.

And when you have the guys out there that you've played with for a decent amount of time, it kind of creates a good bond and understanding of which balls are whose. And it's just having that good communication, even if it's a quick little look at somebody of understanding they have to move a little bit.

So it's going to be a lot of fun playing with Kevin and George out there, having a better idea of how they play out there. And that all comes from spring training.

MIKE WILNER: Are you especially looking forward to playing beside a guy like Kiermaier?

DAULTON VARSHO: Definitely. I mean, he's a Gold Glover. I mean, it's always fun to be out there with a guy who plays the same way that I do, where it's going hard until you catch the ball. And being able to learn from him because I think he goes really well back, that's one thing I think I struggle at a little bit.

But to be able to learn something, maybe something minimal from him throughout his whole career of what helped him and just bounce some ideas off of him, I mean, it's just cool to be around guys like that who have been in the league for a while.

MIKE WILNER: And if I could sneak one more in too, I mean, you've mentioned your dad a lot. And you're going to a ball club that has a lot of players with big league dads, like Bo and Vlad and Kevin. I mean, do you think that's helpful? Do you think that makes it an easier bonding experience for you, that you guys have had those similar experiences?

DAULTON VARSHO: Oh, I think so. Growing up in a clubhouse is different as a kid because you hear and you see a lot of things that not many kids are able to do. And to be around them and kind of hear what their experiences were as kids, I mean it's just cool to hear. And I mean, it's just like with Alek Thomas, with him being around his dad in Chicago, it was pretty cool to have that connection right away.

MIKE WILNER: All right, thanks again.

DAULTON VARSHO: No problem.

- And another from Ben.

BEN WAGNER: Daulton, I was curious. We know the defense. We know the pop that you possess with the bat. Not a lot of conversation around your base running, but that's one topic that Ross made a point to bring up earlier with us today.

How much of it is your personal instinct? Are there influences as coaches? Or was there somebody you gravitated to watching run the bases that you try to mimic?

DAULTON VARSHO: I guess it kind of was an instinct as a little kid. I mean, I just-- I knew the importance of taking that extra base when you can because it puts so much different pressure on the team to be able to make sure that all of their perfect throws and everything--

Especially as a pitcher, you go first and third when sometimes guys only go to first and second, it's like it just puts that extra pressure of, oh, I can't spike a curveball here because now I give up a run. So I take pride in that. It's kind of a big thing that I know that the D-Backs are really big on. But I've been doing that since I was a little kid, and especially in high school and college. I try to play to put as much pressure on the other team as possible. And that's just the way I play.