Blue Jays Trade Deadline – A preliminary look at the two different perspectives

The Toronto Blue Jays are beginning to settle in with more of a feel for the bat and the confidence to win ball games. The club is vastly approaching a time where the thought of an enhancement or a rebuild will be necessary depending on the outcome over the next month or so. Although the Blue Jays kicked off the 2024 season with a rough start, their heads are still somewhat above water. From bottom of the barrel to one spot up in fourth place, there is some hope for playoff talk.

The Jays are three games below .500 and are 15 behind the top spot in the American League East after last night’s game against Boston, so there is still a way to go for the Blue Jays. The AL East is tightly hugged by the New York Yankees, who recently hit 50 wins, and the Baltimore Orioles who are just four wins behind. Needless to say, the race for a division pennant looks highly unattainable barring a drastic collapse up top and a major turnaround from the Jays (not impossible but more improbable). The positive news is, Toronto is 5.5 games out of a wild-card spot.

What does that mean? It means there’s a chance for this to go either way. A few good series for the Blue Jays and some downfalls by other clubs can increase the chance for postseason contention. The real question is, which way does the club tackle the trade deadline?

The Jays currently feature a combined batting average of .234, which is not at all helping the tremendous work of the pitching staff. The team strikes out almost twice as much as they walk, and they average 3.92 runs scored per game.

The Jays also leave an average of 6.76 runners on base per game this season with 3.55 runners left in scoring position. Close games come back to missed opportunities while threatening on the base paths. Which players would Toronto consider investing in for the right situation?

The first call should be to the New York Mets. On the other side of the Big Apple, the boys in Queens may blow up the roster as their positioning does not look promising for 2024 after another disappointing season. Pete Alonso may be one of the hottest names on the trade block and could be one of the biggest splashes in the lineup he ends up in. Alonso is signed through this season but will be free-agent eligible this winter. The slug-show expects a booming paycheque for his next long-term destination, but in the meanwhile, he’ll expect to be a rental out of the holster for a contending club with enough assets to pry him away from the Mets.

Alonso would bring spark to the Jays lineup in all positive ways and could split the time between first base and designated hitter. Toronto will be looking to deal with some heavy names in the farm system for such a player. Arjun Nimmala, Enmanuel Bonilla, Landen Maroudis, and Josh Kasevich could be potential players on the market for such a player but it wouldn’t be surprising if New York asks for Ricky Tiedemann or Orelvis Martinez in trade talks. Davis Schneider and Spencer Horwitz could also be part of such a deal.

The Houston Astros are nine games out of first place in their division and seven out of a wild card spot. The Astros have some names coming up on expiration and some players on there could benefit a playoff-bound squad.

If the Jays take a page out of Alex Anthopoulos’s book and pull off a Troy Tulowitzki deal circa 2015, the modern-day trade would look like Alex Bregman. His five-year contract comes to an end after this season. Bregman would be quite the addition as he would assist the lineup from an offensive point of view, provide playoff wisdom, and take care of the hot corner. The same prospects would be up for grabs to satisfy a deal like that.

Whether contending or not, a secondary closer and or solidified set-up man is always a good idea to have. There were various rumours of the Orioles and other clubs inquiring about Jordan Romano; this was before he was placed on the 15-day injured list.

The Chicago White Sox have a clear interest in dealing with their closer, Michael Kopech, and the hard-throwing arm has gained interest from the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, and Kansas City Royals. The Blue Jays could benefit from an arm to equip the back end of the bullpen and split a set-up role with the likes of Chad Green and Yimi Garcia when he returns.

Kopech shows great pitch-ability and his pitching profile from arsenal to metrics is worth the retention, although the trade cost will be enormous considering he is not free agent eligible until after the 2025 season.

Let’s face the fact that the Blue Jays have some key players that are approaching free agency. In a case where Toronto is looking to move some assets if they feel a contract extension isn’t in the cards, there are a few players that could factor into a trade at the deadline this year.

The Jays have multiple players either on one-year deals or on expiring contracts who could be of interest to teams across the league – Garcia, Danny Jansen, Yusei Kikuchi, Justin Turner, and Kevin Kiermaier come to mind. All of these players could be moved for prospect capital if the Blue Jays want to shed some payroll or consider this group as not part of the extension conversation.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is under contract control through 2025 and patiently awaits a contract extension. The Kansas City Royals and the St. Louis Cardinals can both use a big bat that can post up on the corner infield although almost every team across the league could use his bat when it is putting the ball in play like we have seen as of late. Guerrero Jr. could very well fit into such an equation as these teams are on the contention shelf.

The other piece of the pie sits with Bo Bichette, who is also not free agent eligible until after the 2025 season. Bichette is well below his career batting average in 2024 and like the rest of the team, has been struggling to find it while recently landing on the IL with a calf injury. He has defined himself as an everyday shortstop with a plus bat, however, he’s taken a real step back this season. In a similar scenario, Bichette can be moved for good return as well.

Jeff Blair at Sportsnet posed the idea of Bichette being a good fit for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and I couldn’t agree more. After a devastating fracture to his hand, Mookie Betts possibly moving to the other side of the bag may make better sense in the long run. Why not a guy like Bo to fix that situation?

Closers are hard to find and Toronto has one that is gaining interest. Jordan Romano is up for his final year of arbitration in 2025, however, his value is out of the roof and the role is in demand. Of all teams in the race right now, the Orioles may be in most need of a stopper. This could be a joint duo of Romano and Craig Kimbrel.