For the first time in a long time, everything is clicking for the <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/">Toronto Blue Jays</a>.

That doesn’t just mean the big league team. It extends throughout the organization, as prospects are breaking out left and write, moving the Blue Jays into the middle of the pack in farm system rankings &#8211; and that’s with using their <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/with-eighth-overall-pick-toronto-blue-jays-could-select-jamie-arnold">eighth overall pick</a> yet.
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The Blue Jays are in a good spot, sweeping the <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/series-recap-toronto-blue-jays-sweep-four-game-series-against-yankees-most-important-series-decade">New York Yankees in a four-game series</a> for the first time at home. They were able to find a way to <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/instant-reaction-toronto-blue-jays-walk-off-angels-extend-winning-streak-six">win on Friday</a>, moving to two games above the Yankees for the top spot in the American League East.
It’s clear that the team will be buyers at the trade deadline, and their needs are clear: Pitching and maybe a right-handed power bat. The question is, can the Blue Jays&#8217; general manager, Ross Atkins, get an A+ at this deadline?
History tells us he&#8217;s entirely capable of doing so when looking back at his biggest moves at each of the deadlines when the Jays were buyers. In 2016, the Jays traded Drew Hutchison for Francisco Liriano and two top-ten Pittsburgh Pirates prospects. 
The next time the Blue Jays were buyers was in 2020, with the Jays acquiring Ross Stripling, Robbie Ray, Jonathan Villar, and Taijuan Walker. Of the prospects traded that season, only Travis Bergen and Griffin Conine have been the players to make the big leagues, neither player making much of an impact for their new team.
In 2021, the Blue Jays traded two top 100 prospects, Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson, to the Minnesota Twins for Jose Berrios. Martin, a fifth-overall pick in 2020, played just 93 big league games in 2024 and is currently in the minor leagues. Simeon Woods Richardson has never posted a sub-4.00 ERA in the big leagues.
The one trade many may point to as a bad trade was moving Nick Frasso and Moises Brito to the Dodgers for Mitch White and Alex De Jesus. While that trade is not good, it also hasn’t hurt the Jays, as Frasso has struggled in Triple-A this season, missing all of the 2024 season. 
That same year, the Blue Jays traded Jordan Groshans to the Miami Marlins for Anthony Bass, Zach Pop, and a player to be named later. Groshans never figured it out, Bass was useful in 2022, and Pop certainly didn’t hurt the team, even if he never figured it out. That player to be named later happened to be <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/under-radar-toronto-blue-jays-prospects-edward-duran">Edward Duran</a>, the Blue Jays’ best catching prospect and a prospect to be excited about.
The other trade at the 2022 deadline saw them move prospects <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/throwback-thursday-looking-toronto-blue-jays-trades-guardians-since-start-ross-aktins-era">Samad Taylor</a> and Max Castillo to the Kansas City Royals for Whit Merrifield.  Both Taylor and Castillo played in the big leagues, but are in Triple-A and Mexico, respectively. Merrifield, on the other hand, hit key home runs in the stretch run of the 2022 season and was an All-Star in 2023. <a href="https://shows.acast.com/6ix-inning-stretch">Merrifield is the co-host alongside Lindsay Dunn of 6ix Inning Stretch</a>, a new show presented by Nation Network
In 2023, the Blue Jays made a handful of trades with the St. Louis Cardinals. They moved catching prospect Sammy Hernandez for Genesis Cabrera, relief prospect for Paul DeJong (to replace an injured Bo Bichette) and pitching prospects Sem Robberse and Adam Kloffenstein for Jordan Hicks.
A common theme among many of these players, namely Liriano, Stripling, Berrios, White, Bass, Pop, Merrifled, and Cabrera, is that they all had term remaining on their contract. Although Atkins has never gone all in like Alex Anthopoulos did in 2015, he’s acquired players who helped the Blue Jays for at least two seasons.
That said, the way Atkins can get an A+ at this trade deadline is if he pushes his chips in the middle and goes all in. <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/its-starting-feel-like-2015-for-toronto-blue-jays">The 2025 Blue Jays are special, just like the 2015 Blue Jays were special</a>. They’re winning games, even with Daulton Varsho and Anthony Santander, but imagine those two and a power bat in the lineup? Or what if they add a legitimate ace and two high-leverage relief pitchers? They certainly have the prospects to get some big moves done.
This season may be the best chance the Blue Jays have to win it all, and with how special this team is feeling, they need to make big moves to get an A+ at the trade deadline.
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Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/author/ryley-delaney">Blue Jays Nation</a>, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/author/ryley-delaney">Oilersnation</a>, and <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/author/ryley-delaney">FlamesNation</a>. She can be followed on Twitter <a href="https://x.com/Ryley__Delaney">@Ryley__Delaney</a>.
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For the first time in a long time, everything is clicking for the <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/">Toronto Blue Jays</a>.



That doesn’t just mean the big league team. It extends throughout the organization, as prospects are breaking out left and write, moving the Blue Jays into the middle of the pack in farm system rankings - and that’s with using their <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/with-eighth-overall-pick-toronto-blue-jays-could-select-jamie-arnold">eighth overall pick</a> yet.
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The Blue Jays are in a good spot, sweeping the <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/series-recap-toronto-blue-jays-sweep-four-game-series-against-yankees-most-important-series-decade">New York Yankees in a four-game series</a> for the first time at home. They were able to find a way to <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/instant-reaction-toronto-blue-jays-walk-off-angels-extend-winning-streak-six">win on Friday</a>, moving to two games above the Yankees for the top spot in the American League East.

It’s clear that the team will be buyers at the trade deadline, and their needs are clear: Pitching and maybe a right-handed power bat. The question is, can the Blue Jays' general manager, Ross Atkins, get an A+ at this deadline?

History tells us he's entirely capable of doing so when looking back at his biggest moves at each of the deadlines when the Jays were buyers. In 2016, the Jays traded Drew Hutchison for Francisco Liriano and two top-ten Pittsburgh Pirates prospects. 

The next time the Blue Jays were buyers was in 2020, with the Jays acquiring Ross Stripling, Robbie Ray, Jonathan Villar, and Taijuan Walker. Of the prospects traded that season, only Travis Bergen and Griffin Conine have been the players to make the big leagues, neither player making much of an impact for their new team.

In 2021, the Blue Jays traded two top 100 prospects, Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson, to the Minnesota Twins for Jose Berrios. Martin, a fifth-overall pick in 2020, played just 93 big league games in 2024 and is currently in the minor leagues. Simeon Woods Richardson has never posted a sub-4.00 ERA in the big leagues.

The one trade many may point to as a bad trade was moving Nick Frasso and Moises Brito to the Dodgers for Mitch White and Alex De Jesus. While that trade is not good, it also hasn’t hurt the Jays, as Frasso has struggled in Triple-A this season, missing all of the 2024 season. 

That same year, the Blue Jays traded Jordan Groshans to the Miami Marlins for Anthony Bass, Zach Pop, and a player to be named later. Groshans never figured it out, Bass was useful in 2022, and Pop certainly didn’t hurt the team, even if he never figured it out. That player to be named later happened to be <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/under-radar-toronto-blue-jays-prospects-edward-duran">Edward Duran</a>, the Blue Jays’ best catching prospect and a prospect to be excited about.

The other trade at the 2022 deadline saw them move prospects <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/throwback-thursday-looking-toronto-blue-jays-trades-guardians-since-start-ross-aktins-era">Samad Taylor</a> and Max Castillo to the Kansas City Royals for Whit Merrifield.  Both Taylor and Castillo played in the big leagues, but are in Triple-A and Mexico, respectively. Merrifield, on the other hand, hit key home runs in the stretch run of the 2022 season and was an All-Star in 2023. <a href="https://shows.acast.com/6ix-inning-stretch">Merrifield is the co-host alongside Lindsay Dunn of 6ix Inning Stretch</a>, a new show presented by Nation Network

In 2023, the Blue Jays made a handful of trades with the St. Louis Cardinals. They moved catching prospect Sammy Hernandez for Genesis Cabrera, relief prospect for Paul DeJong (to replace an injured Bo Bichette) and pitching prospects Sem Robberse and Adam Kloffenstein for Jordan Hicks.

A common theme among many of these players, namely Liriano, Stripling, Berrios, White, Bass, Pop, Merrifled, and Cabrera, is that they all had term remaining on their contract. Although Atkins has never gone all in like Alex Anthopoulos did in 2015, he’s acquired players who helped the Blue Jays for at least two seasons.

That said, the way Atkins can get an A+ at this trade deadline is if he pushes his chips in the middle and goes all in. <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/news/its-starting-feel-like-2015-for-toronto-blue-jays">The 2025 Blue Jays are special, just like the 2015 Blue Jays were special</a>. They’re winning games, even with Daulton Varsho and Anthony Santander, but imagine those two and a power bat in the lineup? Or what if they add a legitimate ace and two high-leverage relief pitchers? They certainly have the prospects to get some big moves done.

This season may be the best chance the Blue Jays have to win it all, and with how special this team is feeling, they need to make big moves to get an A+ at the trade deadline.

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Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for <a href="https://bluejaysnation.com/author/ryley-delaney">Blue Jays Nation</a>, <a href="https://oilersnation.com/author/ryley-delaney">Oilersnation</a>, and <a href="https://flamesnation.ca/author/ryley-delaney">FlamesNation</a>. She can be followed on Twitter <a href="https://x.com/Ryley__Delaney">@Ryley__Delaney</a>.

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Looking at what will be considered an “A+” trade deadline for the Blue Jays

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