The Rays are looking for catchers and the Blue Jays have a lot of them

On Friday, the Blue Jays added five players to the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 draft, two of which were catchers, Gabe Moreno and Riley Adams.

With Danny Jansen, Reese McGuire, and Alejandro Kirk already there, that gives the team five catchers on the 40-man roster, which is more than you’d generally like to have.

Elsewhere, according to Jim Bowden, the Tampa Bay Rays have apparently told other teams that their off-season priority is to add “catching, catching, and catching.”

The Rays, as we know, are loaded with all kinds of quality pitchers. The Blue Jays, as we know, need to add some pitchers this off-season.

I’m not really a math person, but this all adds up! It could make all kinds of sense for the Blue Jays to send a catcher over to Tampa Bay in exchange for a pitcher, solving the problem of the massive catching logjam on the 40-man while simultaneously filling another area of need.

Of course, if the Rays want to make a big upgrade behind the plate, they could go ahead and sign J.T. Realmuto, arguably the top free agent on the open market. But, thankfully, the Rays are cheap as fuck and throwing money at a good player like Realmuto simply isn’t going to happen.

Looking through Toronto’s catchers, I doubt Jansen would be the one to go, given the fact he’s become the veteran of the group who knows all of the team’s pitchers. While Jansen’s bat hasn’t come around, he thrives at the defensive and game-calling aspect of the game.

There’s also Reese McGuire, who might welcome a trade to Tampa because of his fun times in Florida parking lots. Though McGuire might be the weakest link of Toronto’s five catchers, dealing him now would be selling at an all-time low after he put up a .073 batting average in 2020. You probably aren’t going to get much in return here.

And then there are the three prospects.

Alejandro Kirk’s stock rose massively this season after the Jays had him skip Double- and Triple-A and make his big-league debut. Though the sample size was tiny, the 22-year-old Kirk didn’t look out of place in the majors at all. This would be selling high, but it’s clear the organization really likes Kirk.

Moreno might end up being the best of the bunch but he’s still a ways away from being big-league ready. You’d have to think that Tampa is looking for a guy who can step in and play in 2020 rather than a good prospect like Moreno.

Adams might actually be the best fit in a deal. He slashed a .261/.366/.443 line between Dunedin and New Hampshire in 2019 and would have played at Triple-A in 2020 had everything been normal. Logic would indicate that 2021 is the year that Adams makes the jump to the big-leagues. Adding a rookie might not be ideal, but we know the Rays love the idea of a player with all of their years of control intact.