Two months after there were concerns about another lost season in Toronto, the Blue Jays are now eyeing the best record in baseball. How about that turnaround? The Jays were 25-27 after a 13-0 loss on May 25. Today, on July 25, the Blue Jays are an American League-best 61-42. The top seed throughout the postseason, including the World Series, is firmly within reach.
This means it’s go time for the front office here in front of the trade deadline. Bo Bichette and Chris Bassitt are free agents after this season. Kevin Gausman is 34 years old. George Springer is 35. For most franchises, opportunities to win the World Series are rare and this team fits the bill. Leave nothing to chance. It’s time to fly another flag forever.
The Jays — now the favorites to win the AL East over the Yankees (-160 odds at Caesars) — have been one of the best offensive teams in baseball since waking up in late May. It can never hurt to add more bats, of course, but do they need to spring for a good one? Anthony Santander might return from his shoulder injury in September and that alone would be a big boost. Daulton Varsho returns soon and he’s an excellent defender with high OPS potential. His return strengthens the bench as him in the starting lineup demotes someone there. Once Andrés Giménez returns from injury at second and Ernie Clement shifts back to third, there isn’t an overly obvious position where the Jays need an upgrade.
That said, They rank 20th in team ERA. Gausman, Bassitt and José Berríos are their three horses in the rotation and are right now followed by Eric Lauer and Max Scherzer. Will that be enough? Alek Manoah might return, but what are they truly going to count on from him?
There have been issues in the bullpen, but the group as a whole has a 2.66 ERA in July. Brendon Little and Yariel Rodríguez have settled in as quality setup men for closer Jeff Hoffman.
In playing GM of the Jays right now, I’m going to attack the pitching market as aggressively as possible.
If we’re getting on the horn with the Pirates to grab pitching, why not get both a starter and reliever? If the Jays could pull this off, it would be a huge move in shoring up both prongs of their pitching staff.
Keller might end up being the best Blue Jays pitcher the rest of the season, too. He has a 3.53 ERA this season, but it’s 2.59 in his last eight starts and the extra adrenaline of moving from a wretched situation into a pennant race sometimes provides a boost. As a bonus, he’s still got three more years on his contract.
Bednar could close instead of Hoffman or serve in a setup role in front of him. Bednar is pitching to a 2.31 ERA right now, but that figure is 0.00 in his last 20 ⅓ innings with 26 strikeouts and only four unintentional walks.
If we do this deal, which would surely take a lot in prospect currency to accomplish, we’re going to have to go a little cheap in adding some more bullpen depth.
While the Twins ask for the world for either Jhoan Duran or Griffin Jax, we could grab lefty reliever Danny Coulombe here. He’s got a 0.93 ERA and 0.97 WHIP with 30 strikeouts in 29 innings this season. Having Little and Coulombe both as late-inning lefty options would really be a nice luxury for manager John Schneider.
3. Grab Jake Bird from Rockies
Bird has been knocked around a lot this month, seeing his ERA leap from 2.63 to 4.09 in the span of four outings (it’s back down to 3.96 now). He was amazing for a while to start the season, though, and you never know what pitching so often in Coors Field is going to do to a guy. It’s always possible he flourishes upon his departure both due to being freed from a bad ballpark situation — in terms of pitcher environment, that is, because Coors Field is aesthetically gorgeous — and a horrific team.
Yes, Bird has been much better in Coors Field this year than on the road, but adjusting your game to Coors causes bad road habits in both hitters and pitchers and we’ve known this for years. In this case, the Jays could grab Bird while his value is depressed and the Rockies’ front office might just go for it.
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