CLEVELAND -- The Guardians have dealt another player to Toronto.

The team announced Friday morning that outfielder Myles Straw had been traded to the Blue Jays along with international bonus pool money and cash in exchange for a player to be named or cash. According to sources, the Guardians will send a total of $3.75 million to the Blue Jays over the next two seasons to help pay some of Straw's contract while also sending $2 million of international bonus pool space now. The club has not confirmed the financial terms of the deal.

Cleveland has been shopping Straw over the past two years, hoping to pass on his contract to another suitor. The Guardians first landed the outfielder at the 2021 Trade Deadline, and he immediately made such a strong impact that the organization didn¡¯t hesitate to lock him up to a five-year, $25 million extension.

This is a team that had been searching for any form of consistency in the outfield since Michael Brantley left. Straw provided elite defense in center, and he hit .285 with a .739 OPS in his 60 games with his new team. It finally seemed like Cleveland found the player it had been looking for.

Since then, the defense remained steady, but the offensive production waned. In ¡¯22, Straw hit .221 with a mere .564 OPS in 152 games. He endured a stretch of 1,160 plate appearances over 716 days without hitting a home run. His average sat at .238 in ¡¯23, and his OPS was still under .600.

Straw came into Spring Training in ¡¯24 determined to prove he could win his roster spot again. He showed improvements offensively and the organization seemed pleased with the muscle he had gained over the winter. However, after missing the playoffs, the Guardians knew it was time for a change. Even though he was still owed nearly $19 million at the time, Cleveland knew it was better off paying him to play in Triple-A Columbus until he proved he could be an impactful everyday player.

Straw only saw seven big league games after that decision. According to Spotrac, he¡¯s still owed $13.8 million over the next two seasons. He has an $8 million club option in ¡¯27 and an $8.5 million option in ¡¯28. But if Toronto decides against exercising his option, Straw would receive a $1.75 million buyout.

Cleveland had extended a non-roster invitation to Major League Spring Training to Straw prior to this trade, but losing him won¡¯t hurt the team¡¯s outfield depth, considering he wasn¡¯t in the picture in ¡¯24. For now, Lane Thomas has center field locked up, but he could also play right. Steven Kwan will be in left. The team has Jhonkensy Noel, Will Brennan, Petey Halpin, Jonathan Rodriguez, Angel Mart¨ªnez and Tyler Freeman as other outfield candidates on the 40-man roster.

Once again, the Guardians have found a way to trade a hefty amount of guaranteed money for the future. They also sent second baseman Andr¨¦s Gim¨¦nez to the Blue Jays earlier this offseason, freeing up nearly $100 million over the next few seasons. But so far, the team hasn¡¯t done much with the sudden financial flexibility.

Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said after the Gim¨¦nez trade that the goal would be to reinvest these funds into the team as soon as possible. Maybe there¡¯s still another addition to be made to this roster before Spring Training begins.