Marlins getting IF Deyvison De Los Santos and OF Andrew Pintar from the Diamondbacks for A.J. Puk, source tells @TheAthletic. Team’s No. 14 and 30 prospects, per @MLBPipeline.
Three more relievers the Blue Jays could trade before Tuesday’s deadline
Photo credit: Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 28, 2024, 10:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 27, 2024, 23:03 EDT
One thing has become abundantly clear over the past few days: Teams are paying a premium for relievers at the trade deadline.
The first big domino fell on Thursday, when the Miami Marlins traded relief pitcher A.J. Puk to the Arizona Diamondbacks. In return, the Marlins received the Diamondbacks’ #14-prospect (Deyvison De Los Santos) as well as their #30th-ranked prospect (Andrew Pintar). Puk had a 4.30 ERA and a 3.62 FIP, mainly as a reliever for the Marlins, but is under team control for an additional season.
The Blue Jays got involved the following day, trading rental reliever Yimi García to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Jonathan Clase (#10 prospect) as well as catching prospect Jacob Sharp, an interesting catcher with some pop in his bat.
Trade news: The Seattle Mariners are acquiring right-handed reliever Yimi Garcia from the Toronto Blue Jays, sources tell ESPN. The main return for the Blue Jays: outfield prospect Jonatan Clase. Garcia was one of the best RP available this deadline. Seattle remaining busy.
Toronto went back-to-back on Saturday afternoon, trading former eighth-best prospect in baseball, Nate Pearson, to the Chicago Cubs. In return, they Jays received Josh Rivera, Chicago’s 23rd-best prospect, and Yohendrick Piñango, the Cubs’ 29th-best prospect. Keep in mind, Pearson has the tools to figure it out as well as two more seasons of arbitration, but he’s rocking a 5.63 ERA and a 4.23 FIP in 40 innings after years of inconsistent play and injuries.
OFFICIAL: We’ve acquired OF Yohendrick Pinango and SS Josh Rivera from the Cubs in exchange for RHP Nate Pearson. Welcome to our #BlueJays family!
The most notable trade involving a reliever happened on Saturday, as the Philadelphia Phillies sent two top pitching prospects, George Klassen and Samuel Aldegheri to the Los Angeles Angeles in exchange for Carlos Estévez. The two prospects ranked in the 20’s for Phillies top prospects, but were set to move up significantly in the rankings after pitching well this season.
Closer Carlos Estevez is headed back to the Phillies in the deal for George Klassen and Samuel Aldegheri, sources tell ESPN. @Ken_Rosenthal had Estevez first. The best staff in the National League gets even better.
With that being said, it’s a sellers market, and the Jays have quite a few relief pitchers who could net the team even more prospects. Let’s take a look at them.
Trevor Richards
It’s not really a matter of “if” the Blue Jays trade Trevor Richards, but “when”. Every season since the Jays acquired him in 2021, there comes a time when Richards’ numbers take a huge hit. Sometimes, such as in 2022, he started the season off rough before pitching well to help the Jays push for a postseason spot. Last season, it was once he returned from in mid-August where his numbers took a nosedive.
This year, it was actually recently. After July 2nd’s game, Richards was rocking a 2.44 ERA and a 3.55 FIP in 44.1 innings pitched. His K% dropped to 23.8% from over 30% the season prior, but he was getting outs while dropping the BB% to 9.3%.
A few weeks ago Trevor Richards seemed like an intriguing trade candidate, but in his last 7 appearances, he has pitched 6.0 innings while allowing 15 hits, 15 earned runs & 6 walks. Has been a big part of Blue Jays' bullpen, but struggles coming at an inopportune time.
Since July 4 though, Richards has given up 15 earned runs in just six innings pitched for a 22.50 ERA and a 10.31 FIP. Moreover, his K% decreased to 17.9% while his BB% ballooned to 15.4%.
All in all, Richards’ season ERA now sits at 4.83, while his FIP sits at 4.35. The K% which sat at 33.3% last season is all the way down to 22.7%. Team’s don’t really look at earned run average to determine whether or not they’ll trade for someone, but Richards’ recent play has surely knocked down his value.
Génesis Cabrera
One Blue Jays’ relief pitcher whose name hasn’t come up at all in trade rumours is Génesis Cabrera.
The 27-year-old left-handed pitcher had an abysmal start to his season, giving up eight earned runs in his first eight innings pitched. However, over the past three months, Cabrera has a 1.91 ERA and a 3.96 FIP in 33 innings pitched, with a 17.5 K% and a 10.5 BB%. For the entire season, he has a 3.29 ERA and a 4.68 FIP in 41 innings pitched, with a 17.4 K% and a 10.1 BB%.
On top of great results over the past three months, Cabrera has another season of arbitration before becoming a free agent at the end of the 2025 season. This season, his contract is worth $1.513 million, a cheap addition for any team needing a left-handed reliever.
The Jays may want to contend in 2025, but moving Cabrera could provide some real value to their farm system.
Chad Green
It’s no secret that teams are interested in Chad Green, the Blue Jays de facto closer with Yimi García gone and Jordan Romano on the 60-day Injured List.
Green spent the majority of the 2023 season on the 60-day Injured List thanks to Tommy John surgery, but pitched the final month where he has a 5.25 ERA and a 2.67 FIP in 12 innings pitched, along with a 30.8 K% and a 7.7 BB%.
Prior to the start of the 2023 season, Green signed a complicated contract with several different scenarios, but the team decided on a two-year deal worth $21 million ($10.5 million towards the payroll annually).
In turn, Green has been terrific for the Blue Jays in 2024, posting a 1.74 ERA and a 4.47 FIP in 31 innings pitched, along with a 23.1 K% and a 7.7 BB%. While the FIP may be worrisome, Green has a track record of being a high-leverage reliever out of the bullpen and any contender would love to have him.
Heck, even his old team, the New York Yankees, are reportedly interested in the 33-year-old, as MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported that the American League East contender wants a reunion with Green.
The Yankees are interested in a reunion with Chad Green, which makes sense on a number of levels: He’s having an excellent season in Toronto. He can close or pitch earlier leverage situations. He was a popular teammate in New York. He’s signed for 2025. @MLBNetwork
Thanks to Green’s term and results this season, he could be the team’s second-best remaining asset (that the Jays are interested in trading) behind Yusei Kikuchi. And with the cost of relievers, the Jays should be all over trading Green.
As always, you can follow me on Twitter @Ryley_L_D.