Most fans agree that it’s always way more fun shopping than spending time at the returns counter. After being an uncharacteristic seller at last year’s trade deadline, dealing away all their would-be free agents, the Toronto Blue Jays are ready to dive back in as sellers this year.

Earlier this week, Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins said the Blue Jays would look to add to the roster on the pitching side, but also, a little further down their priority list, a right-handed bat would be a “nice to have” for their second-half run.

When it comes to outright sellers, there aren’t many impact everyday bats on the market, which is going to make the next four weeks very interesting for teams in the periphery, like the Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins. If those teams decide to sell, the market will open up even further.

But even if those clubs believe they’re still in contention, there are always several bottom-feeders in the standings who have plenty of talent to choose from. Pitching will be the main priority for the Blue Jays entering this year’s trade deadline, but what about those right-handed bats? These are some intriguing names to monitor the rest of July.

Yes, the Athletics just signed Brent Rooker to a five-year/$60 million contract extension earlier this year, but when has that ever prevented the A’s from trading away talent? A deal like that seems very prohibitive for a small-market spender like the Athletics, so it feels like Rooker is destined to play for another team in a few years, anyway.

Rooker can play the outfield, but most of his playing time the last three-plus seasons has been as a designated hitter. But despite the contract, the power in Rooker’s bat is too tempting to ignore for a contender like the Blue Jays.

Do they need another George Springer-esque contract 2.0 on the books? Probably not, but power never goes out of style, especially for a team like the Blue Jays, who were so desperate to hit home runs earlier this season. A deal of this magnitude would take a lot of heavy lifting, but it would add a right-handed power bat to the Blue Jays’ lineup for several years to come.

Inter-divisional trades are pretty rare, but deals between the Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles are even more rare. They’ve only gotten together for eight trades in both franchise histories, the last of significance being the Blue Jays trading John Bale to the Orioles for Jayson Werth back in 2000.

But with the Orioles’ season gone sideways and the Blue Jays contending for a division title, perhaps these two teams will converge for a rare deal. Outfielder Ramon Laureano is having a decent season for the O’s, and the Blue Jays could always use a right-handed outfielder to upgrade their current depth chart.

Laureano is on a $4 million deal with the Orioles with a $6.5 million club option for next season, so that may or may not be beneficial for teams looking for right-handed hitters for 2026 as well. He’s riding a career-high 145 wRC+ with the Orioles, slashing .280/.350/.526 with a .876 OPS.

Like most of the players on this list, it would take some finagling to find Laureano every day at-bats, but if Anthony Santander is nowhere near returning, the Jays will need to backfill those outfielder at-bats somehow. Whether it’s left field or right field, plays capable defense, but still has one of the best outfielder arms in the game.

In retrospect, the Arizona Diamondbacks trading for Eugenio Suarez from the Seattle Mariners was a huge under-the-radar move a few offseasons ago. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reported during the 2023 offseason that the Blue Jays were interested in Suarez, before the Mariners shipped him off to the desert.

The 33-year-old veteran had a great season last year and is on pace to reach 40+ home runs this year. With the Diamondbacks potentially in sell mode, Suarez will be the hottest right-handed bat up for grabs at the trade deadline. Which means the Blue Jays will have to fight off countless suitors for the Venezuelan native.

The fit for the Blue Jays isn’t ideal, though. With Ernie Clement and Addison Barger already in the fold at the hot corner, adding someone like Suarez would further complicate the infield picture for the Blue Jays. However, sliding Suarez over to DH and Springer to the outfield, or Suarez over to third and limiting Clement to lefty pitching, may be an option.

In what seems to be a trend here, might the Blue Jays rekindle with a former flame they once coveted? Heading into the 2017 season, Toronto was reportedly hot to trot for Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen. Eight years later, maybe this thing happens for real this time?

Even at 38 years old, McCutchen is having a respectable 111 wRC+ season with the Pirates this year, primarily as a DH. In a potential role with the Blue Jays, he would be more of a platoon player, perhaps playing the part of a slightly upgraded version of Davis Schneider.