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There’s a new sense of hope around the Blue Jays after successful deadline sale
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Photo credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Veronica Chung
Jul 31, 2024, 08:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 31, 2024, 08:33 EDT
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Before the clock struck six on Tuesday, the Toronto Blue Jays fully accepted and sealed their fate. With more teams fighting for a playoff spot, the Blue Jays understood their assignment at the trade deadline: trade players with impending free agency and listen to all offers. In a market that heavily favoured sellers, Toronto didn’t disappoint and managed to pivot slightly with a remarkably impressive haul. 
Selling was never the plan for the Blue Jays. They were built to contend but enough misadventures and lingering slumps sunk their chances at division and the playoffs. While the underachievement this season can be perceived as a disappointment, that doesn’t necessarily mean all is lost. Toronto viewed the 2024 season as a time to tweak their roster and refresh their system. The intention behind selling was to build for another shot at contention in 2025 and hopefully beyond. 
With that objective in mind, below is the list of players the Blue Jays’ front office traded and brought in:
IN
  • Jonathan Clase (OF) and Jacob Sharp (C) 
  • Josh Rivera (SS) and Yohendrick Pinango (LF)
  • Cutter Coffey (IF), Eddinson Paulino (IF) and Gilberto Batista (RHP) 
  • RJ Schreck (OF)
  • Jake Bloss (RHP)
  • Joey Loperfido (OF/1B)
  • Will Wagner (IF)
  • Jay Harry (UTIL)
  • Charles McAdoo (3B)
  • Ryan Yarbrough (LHP)
OUT
  • Yimi García (RHP) 
  • Nate Pearson (RHP) 
  • Danny Jansen (C) 
  • Justin Turner (DH/1B)
  • Yusei Kikuchi (LHP)
  • Trevor Richards (RHP)
  • Isaiah Kiner-Falera (UTIL)
  • Kevin Kiermaier (CF)
According to this list above, Toronto traded away eight major leaguers and received 14 prospects in total to make up for the lost talents and reinforce their system throughout. But the truth is that evaluating all these trades immediately will be impossible because trades need at least a few years to be properly evaluated. Besides, grading trades involving prospects is risky business because not all minor leaguers are guaranteed to consistently contribute successfully to the major league roster. 
Regardless of the risk the Blue Jays took on this trade deadline, the team’s front office effectively demonstrated its willingness to do things somewhat differently. The core philosophy is still there. Keeping stars like first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette was a no-brainer for this front office as they aimed to contend in 2025. Within that parameter, the Blue Jays provided a new and younger supporting cast that can hopefully help the team next season and beyond. 
One thing the Blue Jays succeeded at this deadline is leveraging their existing major-league talents to open more doors in the future. In fact, Toronto surprised the league by bringing three major-league-ready players by trading away starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi to the Houston Astros. The Blue Jays also didn’t shy away from trading when they believed there were the right returns regardless of their contract status. The team had an impossible task of retooling and threading the needle at the same time for a quicker bounce-back, and it put up an example of how a seller should act in a trade market full of desperate contenders.
The biggest problem the Blue Jays have dealt with for years is their status as a paper tiger. On paper, they were a formidable team that incited fear everywhere they went. However, in reality, they faltered far too often to rise as a legitimate World Series contender each year. Finding a solution to bringing that paper tiger to life was a priority for this front office and they bet on the newer and younger players they acquired at the deadline. 
Undeniably, the Blue Jays got worse after all those trades. They will have to grind out more games as they face teams with even stronger rosters. More losses are guaranteed at this stage as the team confirms the dwindling probability of winning anything. 
But despite all that pessimistic outlook, there is still hope budding from the cold hard ground. The Blue Jays won’t be subjected to immense pressure any longer and will have more playing time for younger players. This is the perfect time for all players with raw talents to show the team what they are capable of. Thankfully, the Blue Jays have enough time to put in players who are hungry to prove themselves. 
This will no longer be the version of the Blue Jays that fell short of reaching their ultimate goal. Rather, this will be the version that will challenge the past while creating their own unique identity. This team is now perfectly cut out to inject pure exhilaration on the field. 
No one will ask this team to carry an enormous weight of contention nor will they demand perfection. This is now a ground for Toronto’s players to learn more about themselves and figure out who they are going to be as a team. Without much scrutiny from the outside, there will be players who will have more breathing room to experience their growing pain while feeling every ounce of joy in a game they love. 
A new dawn, a new day and a new life are here in the Blue Jays dugout. The present looks bleak and the future looks fuzzy at best for now. But something feels inexplicably good. Maybe it’s the cautious optimism as they begin anew. The Blue Jays should feel so good.

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