When the Twins traded right-handed reliever Louis Varland and first baseman Ty France to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for left-handed starting pitcher Kendry Rojas and outfielder Alan Roden, it felt as if France, whom the Twins signed to a one-year deal worth $1 million this past offseason, was just a throw-in since he has been struggling all season long. With the Twins, France was worth 0.7 bWAR and slashed .251/.320/.357 (87 OPS+) in 387 plate appearances. With the Blue Jays, France has flipped the script on what has been an overall disappointing season for the first baseman.
Former Twin Ty France has been on a tear since being traded to the Toronto Blue Jays
France hasn't been playing every day with Toronto, but he has been making his opportunities count. In 50 plate appearances as a Blue Jay, France has hit .311/.380/.422 (122 OPS+) with five doubles while posting 0.3 bWAR in 16 games. France, an impending free agent, likely has to finish the season strong if he wants to secure a big-league contract following his poor performance with the Twins. One thing he has done well all season is hit well when runners need to be driven in, posting a .323/.371/.417 slash line with runners in scoring position.
Former Twin Louis Varland struggling with Blue Jays
Meanwhile, the other former Twin part of the deadline trade with Toronto, Varland, has been struggling to be consistent with his new ball club, allowing five earned runs on nine hits (two home runs) and three walks in nine innings as a Blue Jay. Despite the Minnesota native's recent struggles, he has still managed to strike out ten batters in nine games with Toronto. Although they haven't received the results they wanted from Varland, who had a 2.02 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 49 innings with Minnesota this season, so far, the Blue Jays likely aren't too worried about his poor results, considering he is still collecting a lot of strikeouts and limiting free passes.
Checking in on new Twins Kendry Rojas and Alan Roden, both of whom were part of the Louis Varland and Ty France trade
Rojas had a good first outing in the Twins' organization, allowing zero earned runs with four strikeouts as a member of the St. Paul Saints against the Iowa Cubs. However, he has since then allowed seven earned runs across two starts.
Roden had a mere .463 OPS in 40 plate appearances with the Twins before landing on the 60-day injured list with a left thumb strain.