Jul 2, 2021
An early look at potential Blue Jays trade targets
With now less than a month remaining before the MLB trade deadline, Scott Mitchell takes a look at who the Toronto Blue Jays could target with an eye for improvement ahead of July 30.
TORONTO — July is upon us and that means the hot stove is heating up and the rumour mill is starting its yearly churn.
Similar to the winter, the Toronto Blue Jays are expected to be involved in just about every conversation between now and the July 30 trade deadline.
As of today, however, the parity across baseball is slowing things down, as a large group of potential sellers are still in wild-card contention.
If you look around baseball, there are only nine teams you can identify as legitimate sellers: Baltimore, Detroit, Minnesota, Kansas City, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Pittsburgh and Miami.
Some of those clubs have little to offer already.
On the other hand, a whopping 17 clubs are .500 or better and thinking about October baseball.
To lengthen that list even more, four more teams — Atlanta, Philadelphia, St. Louis and the L.A. Angels — are within four games of .500, leaving a total of 21 clubs in the mix to some extent and looking more towards buying talent than selling it off.
Of course, that won’t happen. It never does.
Over the next three weeks, a large handful of those teams will wilt in the summer heat and more players will be added to the trade market, showing exactly why patience can be important this time of year.
For every move, there’s an opportunity cost involved, and teams are carefully plotting what may or may not happen over the next four weeks.
While the Jays are currently eyeing relief help and GM Ross Atkins has mentioned a versatile left-handed bat, the starting rotation still might end up being top need by the time July turns into August.
With that in mind, here’s an early look at a handful of players who could fit the Jays’ roster needs:
RP Richard Rodriguez, Pirates
We’ll start with an easy one. This is a pitcher who’s definitely available and will be on the move this month.
He also fits exactly what the Jays need, and that’s not just because the 31-year-old righty is a high-leverage bullpen arm.
More importantly, he’s a bullpen arm who doesn’t walk anyone, issuing just eight free passes over the past two seasons, a total of 54.2 innings.
Any reliever the Jays target is likely to be one who can find the zone with regularity, making Rich Rod a perfect fit.
With two more arbitration years remaining, Pittsburgh GM Ben Cherington will be setting the price high, which is why you’re hearing his name early as the Pirates want to get the market stirring on their guy.
SP German Marquez and Jon Gray, Rockies
Anyone who’s watched Marquez flash over the years has envisioned the righty pitching full-time outside of Coors Field.
It seems the Rockies are intent on rebuilding, and Marquez would fetch quite the haul. The Jays may be willing to ante up considering the upside.
The 26-year-old’s breaking balls — even in the thin air — are among the best in the business, and with three more years on his contract after this one, Marquez would look pretty good behind lefty Hyun Jin Ryu.
After bungling the Nolan Arenado trade, the new Rockies’ regime will be looking to hit a home run if they decide to deal their best pitcher, so the price will be sky high.
On the other side of expensive sits former third-overall pick Jon Gray.
Gray looks the part but hasn’t been able to put it all together, and you never really know if that’s Coors or the pitcher himself. It’s likely a cocktail of the two.
A free agent this winter, Gray is getting more grounders this year and has posted a respectable 3.89 ERA, putting the Rockies in position to get something for this backend starter type.
Rolling the dice on a fresh start might not be a bad idea.
SP Jose Berrios, Twins
The price on this 27-year-old righty would be massive, but like Marquez, it could be worth it.
While the Twins are one of those teams that could look to simply shift around minor pieces in a lost season rather than tear down core components like Berrios, it makes sense to let contenders know he’s available and see what comes across the desk.
The allure of Berrios is obvious.
He’s controlled through next season and has settled in as a high-upside 3-4 WAR starter, one who may have another level in him yet.
The Jays have the talent in the system to get this type of deal done if they want to be ultra-aggressive.
If Berrios or Marquez is truly available, that’s where Atkins’ focus should be.
RP Ian Kennedy, Rangers
Similar to Rodriguez, Kennedy will without a doubt be on the move as one of the relievers pitching well in the moment.
The former Royals closer has taken advantage of an injury-ravaged Rangers bullpen to save 13 games and put together some sparkling peripherals at the same time.
Kennedy is prone to the home run ball at times, but he’s a true rental as a free-agent heading into his age-37 season next summer and won’t cost as much as Rodriguez.
3B Eduardo Escobar, Diamondbacks
Another pending free agent, Escobar would solve the Jays’ third base issues and provides more versatility than Kyle Seager with his ability to play second and short.
He’s also a switch-hitter, adding that much-needed lefty bat.
All of the Seattle Mariners
Perhaps the team with the most intriguing fits for the Jays is the one that just left Buffalo with a leg up in the same AL wild-card race at 43-39.
Kyle Seager, despite a down year offensively with a 93 wRC+ compared to a career mark of 111, is an immediate upgrade at the hot corner defensively and hits from the left side to boot.
He’s in the final year of his deal and it might not take a lot of prospect capital if the M’s fall out of the race.
On the pitching side, former Blue Jay Kendall Graveman has reinvented himself as a reliever, posting a 1.11 ERA with the help of his dominant 97-mph sinker. He’d help any bullpen.
In the rotation, the M’s have one left-hander pitching well in Yusei Kikuchi and one pitching poorly in Marco Gonzales.
Kikuchi’s uniquely structured contract calls for a club option on a four-year, $66-million extension this winter. If that’s declined, it turns into a one-year, $13-million player option.
In other words, the extension is pricey even with Kikuchi pitching well, so the Mariners could look to cash in when the 30-year-old’s value is high.
Gonzales, on the other hand, would be an attempt to buy low as the 29-year-old lefty has scuffled to a 5.10 ERA, but he’s guaranteed $24 million over the next three years.