Blue Jays’ Will Wagner shines in MLB debut as Toronto beats LA

Toronto Blue Jays infielder Will Wagner collected three hits and an RBI in his major-league debut, and starter Bowden Francis pitched seven effective innings as the club beat the Los Angeles Angels 4-2 on Monday night.

Wagner, acquired with Jake Bloss and Joey Loperdifo from the Houston Astros in the Yusei Kikuchi deal last month, was called up by the Blue Jays on Monday and in the lineup to open the series in Los Angeles.

The 26-year-old doubled in his first major league at-bat and followed that up with two singles, including his first RBI. He’s the fourth player in Blue Jays history to record three hits in his major league debut.

“I don’t know if it could have gone any better,” Wagner told Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi afterwards.

Wagner, the son of former major league closer and seven-time All-Star Billy Wagner, played seven games with the Bisons, hitting .400/.516/.600 before getting the call on Monday.

Wagner opens up about trade to Blue Jays

Toronto had contributions from its young players all night, as infielder Leo Jimenez hit his first major league home run, a two-run shot, off Angels starter Davis Daniel. First baseman Spencer Horwitz added an RBI double, while Vladimir Guerrero Jr. continued his hot stretch with two hits and a walk.

Francis pitched seven innings of one-hit baseball, striking out eight batters. The lone run came on a solo shot from outfielder Mickey Moniak. Angels outfielder Jo Adell also went deep, a solo home run in the ninth inning off closer Chad Green.

With regards to Wagner, he’s going to get a long look in the majors. No matter where he plays, “he’ll get plenty of runway,” said Blue Jays manager John Schneider, so the club can assess just how well the .315/.432/.444 batting line he’s amassed in 77 triple-A games translates. 

The 26-year-old shared some insight into how he learned about being traded to the Blue Jays on July 29, admitting he was relatively confident at the time that he was staying put. He received a text from Blue Jays prospect Mason Fluharty, asking if he’d seen the rumours.

“I texted back, ‘No, I haven’t heard anything. I don’t think it’s me,'” Wagner recalled to Davidi. “Twenty minutes later, the Astros GM [Dana Brown] calls me and is like, ‘We’re sending you to Toronto.’ It was crazy. I kind of blacked out for a second. 

“I was like, ‘I’m getting traded out of everyone on our team?’ Our team is really good. There were two other guys that we thought were going to be gone off the team. No one ever really said my name in trade rumours. So it was cool.”

The Blue Jays will turn to Kevin Gausman on Tuesday night.

With files from Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi