Daulton Varsho, the Marshfield native and UW-Milwaukee alumnus who was part of last year’s American League champion Toronto Blue Jays team, found himself facing off with his good buddies after a trade to the other clubhouse.
Varsho, dealt to the Houston Astros on the Aug. 3 trade deadline, wound up in the awkward position of squaring off with the team he played for yesterday. Varsho did the iconic stroll through the tunnel to the other clubhouse in Houston before the game between the Astros and Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays, who have struggled mightily this season, traded Varsho for starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti, and Varsho immediately slotted in as the cleanup hitter and starting center fielder for an Astros team that leads the American League West.
Varsho has a .682 OPS with seven homers this season. After three years with the Arizona Diamondbacks, he spent the last three-plus seasons in Toronto. He homered in Game 1 of the World Series last year, though the Blue Jays lost to the Dodgers in seven games, but Toronto came into Aug. 3 with a 52-60 record, 13½ games behind the East-leading Rays.
Varsho became the first UW-Milwaukee alumnus to reach the major leagues, and he’s now teammates with the second player ever to do it, Houston pitcher A.J. Blubaugh.
Philadelphia’s Brian Keller, a Germantown High School alumnus, became the third UWM alumnus to reach the big leagues earlier this year; he’s been optioned back down to the minors after three innings but remains on the Phillies’ 40-man roster.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsinite Varsho traded at MLB deadline, immediately faces old team
Reporting by JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
