Blue Jays and White Sox swap former first-round busts

The Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago White Sox are swapping a pair of catchers once drafted in the first round but for what reason?

What do the Toronto Blue Jays and Chicago White Sox have in common? Both play in the American League. Each should compete for a playoff spot this year. They also seemed to agree that it was time to make a trade.

On the final Sunday before Opening Day, the Blue Jays sent catcher Reese McGuire to the White Sox in exchange for catcher Zack Collins.

This pair of former first-round draft picks is changing organizations. A few years ago, it would have been a blockbuster deal with the chance to alter each organization’s future. In April of 2022, it’s a minor move with far fewer implications.

The Blue Jays and White Sox are making trades for the sake of making trades

McGuire’s professional career began in 2013 when he was the 14th-overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates. He ended up with the Blue Jays when he was sent there along with Francisco Liriano and Harold Ramirez for Drew Hutchison. He made his big league debut in 2018 and has seen a little bit of action each year since. However, batting just .248/.297/.390 during those 400 trips to the plate didn’t showcase enough for the Blue Jays to ever consider him more than a backup.

Unfortunately, he is best remembered for an arrest that didn’t help put him in good favor with the organization.

Collins’ professional career could have also began in 2013 when the Cincinnati Reds took him in the 27th round. He didn’t sign and would later get drafted as the tenth-overall pick by the White Sox in 2016. He had some underwhelming offensive seasons in the minor leagues until 2019 when he battered 19 home runs in Triple-A to go with a .282/.403/.548 slash line.

The minor-league success didn’t career over into the big leagues. Collins departs Chicago with a lifetime .195/.315/.330 slash line and not much hope of being anything other than a journeyman backup.

This is one of those late offseason moves that flies under the radar because of how inconsequential it appears. That’s exactly what it is. Two first-round busts at the same position are changing uniforms.

There will likely be no winner in this transaction. It’s a trade for the sake of doing something.

Let’s see if Jerry Dipoto and A.J. Preller can get together and do something, too.