With the Toronto Blue Jays sitting now last in the American League East with a 46-55 record, you have to start having tough conversations. Although the team is not fully out of the wild card race, sitting 6.0 games back of the final spot, the reigning American League champs are 12.5 games back of the first-place Tampa Bay Rays.

With the Blue Jays’ current playoff odds sitting at just 8.9%, the idea of being sellers at the deadline is beginning to rear its head for the first time since 2024. Daulton Varsho is by far one of the most fascinating expiring contracts as he is a very intriguing player. Varsho has played in 88 games this year, slashing .239/.304/.380 with a .684 OPS on the season. Despite him being ice-cold in the month of July, he is incredibly well-rounded and has shown signs of the Varsho that, if healthy last season, would have won a Gold Glove as he did in 2024. With an extension likely being very rich to keep his services, the Blue Jays may have to start to explore trading the centrepiece of their outfield, no pun intended. The question now becomes, where is there a potential fit?

The Phillies were a team that was dead in the water, but suddenly have emerged as one of the best teams in the National League. In June the Phillies had put up an 18-9 record, tied for second-best in the league along with the Los Angeles Dodgers. When evaluating based on need, the Phillies do need some more help in the outfield as the only other outfielder with a positive WAR aside from Brandon Marsh is Derek Hill.  With Adolis García now out for the foreseeable future, Varsho is a player who can fit into the hole the team has in centre field.

As for what the Blue Jays would want out of the deal, ideally they would want an arm or perhaps another outfielder to replace Varsho going into 2027. Sure, Myles Straw has an option for next year, but that is something the team would have to agree on having him play regularly compared to platooning currently. Could Toronto-born outfielder Dante Nori, the Phillies’ fifth-best prospect be in play? I don’t know for sure, but I do expect the Blue Jays to ask about him. As for a more reasonable ask, consider Wen-Hui Pan, who was signed back in the winter of 2023. Pan, ranked 12th in the Phillies’ farm system has a 2.81 ERA across three minor league levels this season and is an arm that can help fortify a bullpen. Other names to inquire about for Philly can be RHP Alex McFarlane (ranked 17th) and David Saltiban (ranked 20th).

One of the hottest team’s in MLB is wanting to prove to the rest of the league that they now have a strong core to contend. After a pair of tough seasons in 2024 and 2025, the Marlins look to be in prime position to carve their path back to the postseason. With their infield being their strength with the likes of Otto Lopez, Xavier Edwards, and Liam Hicks behind the plate, the key to improve is their outfield. In particular an upgrade over Jakob Marsee who’s been rough since breaking into the league late last season. Adding  Varsho to complement Heriberto Hernández and Kyle Stowers could help propel the Marlins to the next level.

The Marlins are in a dead heat of the wild-card race with the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Arizona Diamondbacks breathing down their necks, the Marlins would be a lot more effective defensively with Varsho, even if he has taken a step back defensively.  The Blue Jays and Marlins have always been tied together in trade rumours involved with a lot of starting pitching including Sandy Alcantara. While pitching is an avenue the Blue Jays very much value, perhaps getting another outfielder like a Kemp Alderman (No. 8) in the Marlins system is a possibility.

This would be kind of awkward after the whole walk-off grand slam that he hit off them back in June, but in-division trades are far from impossible. See as well the Blue Jays acquiring Seranthony Domínguez from the Baltimore Orioles last season amid a four-game series in Baltimore, in which Domínguez pitched just days later for Toronto. With the Rays being the powerhouse of the American League East, an upgrade over Cedric Mullins is for sure enticing for a team looking to win the division for the first time since 2021.

When looking at what the Rays could offer for Varsho, their pitching is always going to be looked at first. Going into 2027, the Blue Jays are slated to have a starting rotation of Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, Cody Ponce, and potentially José Berríos by the end of the first half. As far as arms coming up through the organization, not much is on the way behind Yesavage, who just leapfrogged the whole prospect pool last fall. An arm like Michael Forret (No. 9) is a lefty starter the Jays could ask for back to help strengthen their minor league rotation which is lacking a bit of depth with injuries to the likes of Jake Bloss and Ricky Tiedemann. Given how well the Rays scout and develop prospects, pitchers especially, the Blue Jays should bite the bullet and seize the opportunity if things continue to slip down the lane of selling.