July 28, 2019

By Andrew Hendriks

Canadian Baseball Network

TORONTO -- With Major League Baseball's trade deadline looming on the horizon, the Toronto Blue Jays completed a pair of transactions on Sunday, sending RHP Marcus Stroman to the New York Mets in exchange for RHP Simeon Woods-Richardson, LHP Anthony Kay and cash, while also trading UTL Eric Sogard to the Tampa Bay Rays for a pair of players to be named later.

Highlighting the day's transactions, Kay, 24, joins the Blue Jays organization having posted an ERA of 3.76 with 219 strikeouts against 89 walks over parts of two minor league seasons in the Mets system. A first-round draft pick in 2016 (31st overall), the 6-0 product of Stony Brook, N.Y. has spent the majority of 2019 at the double-A level, going 7-3 with a FIP of 2.72 across 66 1/3 frames as a member of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

Woods-Richardson, 18, has spent all of 2019 with the A-ball Columbia Fire Flies, accounting for 20 starts and a walk to strikeout ratio of 97/17 across 78 1/3 innings of work.

Prior to Sunday's deal, the pair checked in as the No. 4 and No. 6 top prospects in the Mets system, respectively, according to Baseball America.

A pivotal contributor to the Blue Jays postseason runs in 2015 and 2016, Stroman exits Toronto having gone 47-45 over parts of six years dating back to his MLB debut in May of 2014. His cumulative ERA of 3.42 over 72 career appearances at Rogers Centre is the third lowest mark among all Blue Jays starters with at least 400 innings of work in the dome.

In the midst of his best offensive season at the MLB level, Sogard exits having slashed .300/.363/.477 with a career high 10 home runs over 287 at-bats with Toronto.

While the returns in Sunday's swap with the Rays are still unknown, Sogard's departure clears a roster spot for the Blue Jays current top prospect Bo Bichette, who should make his Major League debut when the team squares off against Kansas City this week.

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