The Blue Jays are apparently among the teams who have expressed interest in Teoscar Hernandez

The Seattle Mariners went into seller mode on Monday, as they dealt closer Paul Sewald to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for infielder Josh Rojas, outfielder Dominic Canzone, and minor leaguer Ryan Bliss.

This move wasn’t much of a surprise. General manager Jerry DiPoto appeared on MLB Network Radio over the weekend and said that the team has its feet in both camps when it comes to buying and selling. While the Mariners aren’t interested in blowing things up in the midst of their underwhelming season, they have their focus set on 2024.

Sewald is set to reach free agency following the 2024 season so it makes some sense that the Mariners opted to lean into a market that favours the few teams that are selling. Given that logic, it would make sense for the Mariners to move other players who are nearing free agency, such as Teoscar Hernandez.

According to Jon Morosi, Hernandez has drawn interest from a handful of teams, including the Blue Jays, the team that traded him to Seattle back in the off-season.

Hernandez is having a difficult season with the Mariners. His .288 on-base percentage and .406 slugging percentage are well down from the numbers he had put together during his three All-Star calibre seasons in Toronto between 2020 and 2022. He also leads all of Major League Baseball with 143 strikeouts.

The Blue Jays have solidified their pitching staff with the acquisitions of Jordan Hicks and Genesis Cabrera along with veteran starter Hyun Jin Ryu returning from Tommy John surgery. The focus is now on adding a much-needed right-handed bat to the middle of their lineup who can mash lefty pitching.

Despite his overall struggles this season, Hernandez still boasts a solid .303/.323/.573 slash line against left-handed pitchers, so he could be an ideal fit in a platoon with Daulton Varsho or Brandon Belt. That being said, given the injury that Bo Bichette suffered in Monday’s loss to the Baltimore Orioles, Toronto might instead prioritize looking for a right-handed bat who can play shortstop.