Expect the Jays to keep dealing in August

Steve Phillips

TSN Baseball Insider

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The Major League Baseball trade deadline has passed Tuesday afternoon after much wheeling and dealing. There were 47 trades combined in June (four) and July (43), with all 30 teams making at least one deal in the flurry. 

The most controversial trade was the Blue Jays deal sending closer Roberto Osuna to the Houston Astros for recently demoted closer Ken Giles and two pitching prospects.

The fact that the Jays were able to find a taker for Osuna was a bit of a shocker. The closer is nearing the end of his 75-game suspension under the joint domestic violence policy. His baseball penalty is scheduled to end on Saturday and he is eligible to pitch Sunday, but his legal situation is still unresolved. He has a hearing on Wednesday, but at this point there is no resolution in sight. Osuna’s camp is hoping to get the charges dropped or reduced to where he will get help with education and therapy but not serve any jail time.

The Jays were certainly headed for an uncomfortable moment if Osuna was activated off of MLB’s suspended list while his court case was still pending. Letting him pitch in a major-league game while there was a chance he could go to jail or have his visa status compromised felt inappropriate.

Jays’ ownership felt the same way and decided it was time to part ways with the young pitcher. At his news conference, general manager Ross Atkins said the decision had been made for a while that Osuna wouldn’t pitch again for the Jays. Effectively, ownership told the Jays’ front office to cut their losses and move on from the right-hander. So, they set out to look for a taker.

I spoke with a couple of general managers who said they had no interest in Osuna, not because of his ability, but because of his pending legal situation as well as his acceptance of the 75-day suspension. Most teams wouldn’t even consider taking him under the circumstances, especially with his legal situation being unresolved. But it only takes one. Atkins and team president Mark Shapiro found their one in the Astros.

Atkins said the trade was a baseball trade but it really wasn’t. From a baseball perspective, one would never trade a 23-year-old closer with dominant stuff and playoff experience who is under team control for three more seasons. This was a take-what-you-can-get deal.  

The key to any trade is finding a team that matches up with you. The Astros were in a desperate position as Giles had several emotional meltdowns this season and had been sent to the minors. Houston missed out on several other closers and had become panicked that they might not find a ninth-inning option. The Astros have visions of defending their World Series title from last season but didn’t believe they could unless they landed a closer. They were the perfect match for the Jays.

Ultimately, the Jays traded their problem, Osuna, for the Astros problem, Giles. The Astros threw in a couple of pitching prospects for good measure and the clubs had a deal. Atkins and Shapiro amazingly replaced their young pitcher with a 27-year-old closer who has World Series experience and two seasons of control beyond 2018. The Jays could never have imagined that cutting their losses could prove to be so lucrative. This deal was a huge save by the Jays front office considering they had only one real taker. They were able to use the Astros desperation to win at any cost against them.

The trade of Osuna is arguably the best deal that any team made at the deadline when you consider the circumstances.

The Jays traded six players in all: Osuna, J.A. Happ, Steve Pearce, Aaron Loup, Seunghwan Oh and John Axford. They were able to bring back 10 players in return to further deepen the talent level of the organization.

In the Happ deal they were able to acquire Brandon Drury and Billy McKinney. Drury can play third base, second base and the outfield but profiles best at second. He has had two seasons in which he hit more than 30 doubles and 10-plus homers. McKinney, a left-hand hitting outfielder, could serve in the Curtis Granderson role in 2019. He has shown the ability to get on base and hit for average early in his career. More recently he has sold out more for the home run than contact. The Jays hope they can combine the two approaches.

In the Pearce deal, the Jays got a 23-year-old shortstop, Santiago Espinal, who is playing at the Double-A level. He’s probably not a starter in the big leagues but could provide insurance and depth at some point as a utility player.  

The Colorado Rockies sent two young position players the Jays way in the Oh deal. First baseman Chad Spanberger (22) and second baseman Forest Wall (22) are players with tools but they haven’t quite translated them into the necessary skills to play consistently. But one can close his eyes and dream about their upside.

The Osuna deal returned Giles as well as pitchers David Paulino and Hector Perez. Paulino was once the Astros’ third best prospect but slid to 23rd after a positive PED test and an 80-game suspension. Perez, who is pitching at Double-A, has swing-and-miss stuff. They may both profile as relievers as they move up the ladder but both can help in the bullpen in Toronto in due time.

The Jays added two 24-year-old Triple-A pitchers on Tuesday afternoon in Corey Copping (from the Dodgers for reliever John Axford) and Jacob Waguespack (from the Phillies for lefty Aaron Loup). Neither of them has overpowering stuff but they add to the inventory in the Jays bullpen depth.

Shapiro and Atkins did a really nice job getting a wide range of depth and talent in return. Giles has a chance to be special as he has an extraordinary arm. Drury and McKinney appear to be more blenders than impact players, but they are definitely candidates to play important roles moving forward. The Jays will likely get complementary bullpen pieces from among the pitchers they brought in. They’ll also hope to catch lightning in a bottle with the younger position players and have one or more develop into middle-of-the-lineup bats. Only time will tell.

Atkins acknowledges they had conversations about a few other players that didn’t lead to deals. My experience is that some of those conversations can and will be revisited. I fully expect the Jays to consider deals for Tyler Clippard, Curtis Granderson and Josh Donaldson during the next month. Even though the trade deadline has passed, clubs can still make deals. It’s just more cumbersome and complicated as players must pass through or secure waivers to do so.

Donaldson is by far the most important chip of the remaining candidates to be traded. The mission statement in August is to get Donaldson healthy. The Jays need to get him back on the field and productive for a few weeks before they have a chance to find a taker.

Players can’t be placed on waivers while they are on the disabled list, so once he returns to the field the Jays will secure waivers and consider a deal. It is unlikely anyone would claim Donaldson for fear that the Jays would dump him on the claiming club and make them absorb the millions remaining on his deal.

Any team wanting the Jays third baseman will want Toronto to eat a big chunk of the remaining salary. Donaldson will have to go unclaimed to ensure that happens. This benefits the Jays as they will be able to trade him to multiple clubs and negotiate a better deal because of the demand.  

Spitting Seeds

- It seems like Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Chris Archer has been on the trading block for each of the last three years. The Rays finally traded him on Tuesday, sending him to Pittsburgh. To join a Pirates club that is just three games back in the NL wild-card race.

The Pirates, who also added reliever Keone Kela from the Texas Rangers, made a big statement for their fan base. In the past, the front office has been criticized for not going for it when they had a chance to win. Not this time.

The Pirates have been very streaky this year and their recent hot run brought them within reach of the second wild-card spot. GM Neil Huntington decided to go for it, but made sure that the acquisitions he made delivered more than just short-term value.

Archer is under Pirates control with a $7.5 million salary in 2019 with two option years at $8.25 million in 2020 and 2021. Kela is arbitration eligible in 2019 and 2020. This control allowed Huntington to feel comfortable giving up prospects in the deals.

The Rays realize that they aren’t going to win their division over the next few years with the Red Sox and Yankees playing at an elite level. So the Rays are starting the rebuilding process. They brought back two impact prospects for Archer from the Pirates in 6-foot-8 pitcher Tyler Glasnow and athletic outfielder Austin Meadows, plus a player to be named later. 

Archer’s performance has dropped off in the past couple of seasons. He was once considered a near ace but in recent years the numbers have been inflated – especially the homers. I believe he is a good candidate to benefit from the change of scenery and an escape from the AL East.  The Rays also realized that now was the time for a trade because Archer went on the disabled list with strained oblique earlier this season. They knew they had better trade him before he suffered a more serious problem and lost his value.

The Rays also brought back prospects in trades of catcher Wilson Ramos to Philadelphia, relievers Matt Andriese to Arizona and Jonny Venters to Atlanta, and starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi to Boston.

The Rays were also buyers, acquiring outfielder Tommy Pham from the Cardinals for three minor leaguers.  

- The other big trade deadline news had the Washington Nationals standing pat for the most part. There were reports on Monday evening that Washington was listening to offers on superstar Bryce Harper. It seemed like a fire sale was about to happen, but general manager Mike Rizzo decided he believes in his club and wants to see if they can make a run to catch the Braves and Phillies in the NL East. 

The Nationals did trade reliever Brandon Kintzler to the Cubs but otherwise they held on to Harper and their other pending free agents. The players certainly responded as they went out and beat the Mets 25-4 on Tuesday night. The question is whether or not Washington can sustain a high level of play. The game was the most lopsided loss in Mets history.  

- The most bizarre trade of the deadline was the Milwaukee Brewers trade to acquire Orioles’ second baseman Jonathan Schoop. Schoop is a good player, and with a year of control he was clearly a target for buyers. The oddity is that the Brewers had already traded for third baseman Mike Moustakas and had decided to move their third baseman Travis Shaw to second. The addition of Schoop meant that they now had a very crowded infield and the only way to fit them all in would be to play guys out of position.

General manager David Stearns said that they may rest one of the three on any given day but they may also play Schoop at shortstop, Shaw at second and Moustakas at third. Schoop has 21 innings of experience at shortstop in his career and Shaw has just 17 innings of experience at second base. This configuration will fortify their offence but they may give up a bunch of extra runs from the subpar defence.  

- The Yankees and Red Sox both made good moves to upgrade their rosters for the stretch run.  The Yankees added starting pitchers J.A. Happ from the Jays and Lance Lynn from the Twins.  They also deepened their already strong bullpen by trading for lefty Zach Britton. The Red Sox added Nate Eovaldi to their rotation in a deal with the Rays and upgraded their bench with Steve Pearce from the Jays. They also added second baseman Ian Kinsler from the Angels to protect the position in case Dustin Pedroia doesn’t return from his knee injury. The Sox have a five-game lead on the Yankees entering play on Wednesday. The Yankees have the talent to catch the Red Sox but the Sox certainly have the talent to hold them off. The race will come down to the 10 head-to-head matchups that remain between the teams.

- One of the surprises of the deadline was the lack of interest that Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre and Orioles outfielder Adam Jones had in accepting a trade to a contender. Both veterans are 10/5 players which give them to right to veto any trade. Beltre, 39, isn’t sure he is going to play next year, but if he does he wants to play in Texas. I still thought he might be willing to move if he had a chance to go to the World Series. The Braves, Indians, Phillies and Red Sox all inquired on him. He said thanks, but no thanks. Jones, 33, would have been a great fit in Philadelphia or Cleveland as well but rejected their interest. So both players will finish the season on what will be last-place teams. Baltimore has a chance to be historically bad as they have purged their major-league roster significantly.

- Speaking of Baltimore, general manager Dan Duquette may have saved his job at the trade deadline. The Orioles traded away six players and acquired 14 prospects and one major-league player in return. They jump-started their rebuild quite nicely.  A farm system that had very little depth improved dramatically. Duquette also added $2.75 million in international pool money bringing their total to more than $8 million. The Orioles have not been active internationally in recent years, choosing to spend their money on the major-league roster instead. Now they are going to be big players and can land some impact international talent, including a good shot of signing Cuban defector Victor Victor Mesa. This is another way the Orioles can propel the rebuild. They are finally doing the right thing in Baltimore.