How the Toronto Blue Jays Can Improve at the 2025 Trade Deadline
Blue Jays Expected to Be Buyers At Deadline
(Photo via Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports)
If you told me that the Jays would have been one of the top teams in baseball by record before this season started, I would have laughed at you. Yet here we are, a week away from the trade deadline, and that is our reality. Sometimes I love being wrong :)
The secrets to the Blue Jays 2025 success is a whole other blog topic, so lets just get into the meat and potatoes of this article.
Blue Jays Deadline Needs
The 2025 MLB trade deadline is July 31. Despite all of the success the Jays continue to have, there are some clear opportunities for improvement. Expect the Jays to be aggressive in their efforts to add on.
Bullpen
In my opinion, this is the glaring weakness of the team, and an area where the Jays MUST look to add. Despite getting solid contributions from random sources at times throughout the season, there is a serious lack of high impact arms in the pen. Chad Green is giving up WAY too many homers, Jeff Hoffman is either dominant or imploding, Yimi Garcia is a wildcard health-wise, and John Schneider likely doesn't want to continue using the likes of Justin Bruihl or Tommy Nance in leverage.
Yariel Rodriguez has been incredible, and Brenden Little has also been a great find (though you'd like to see the walks reduced), but you can keep running those guys into the ground. Without many good internal options, I expect the Jays to get one high-leverage reliever and at least one other solid arm.
Starting Pitching
I would describe the Blue Jays starting rotation as it stands as "good, not great." Gausman, Berrios, and Bassitt have all been the extremely valuable work horses we've come to expect. Those guys prove that the best ability is availability, and I don't want to understate their importance to this team. Who knows where the Jays would be without them given the serious lack of depth on the SP side of things.
Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images
Speaking of depth, shoutout to Eric Lauer. It has truly been a pleasure to watch him pitch, and he has proven that he is a dependable MLB starting pitcher after finding something during his time in Korea. The biggest wildcard for the rotation at this time seams to be baseball legend Max Scherzer. Of course, we all love Mad Max, but let's face the facts: he's 40+ years old, battling a chronic thumb injury, and currently has a 5.13 ERA (as of July 24th).
The interesting thing is that the rotation as it stands is pretty solid, without a clearly replaceable man. Still, the lack of reinforcements should injury strike is frightening to think about.
Additionally, there really isn't a true ace that almost guarantees a shutdown 6 innings every time out. Come playoff time, is the trio of Gausman, Bassit, and Berrios enough to win against elite offences? Maybe. Gausman probably has the highest "ace-potential" of the group, but it's never a sure thing with any of them.
Position Players & Hitters
This offence has produced consistently this season, somehow, some way. Contributions have come from everywhere, with unlikely sources like Myles Straw, Nathan Lukes, Ernie Clement and more contributing in big ways on any given day. Addison Bargers breakthrough has been massive. What is even massive-er (that's a word, trust me), is bounce back seasons from Springer, Bichette, and Kirk. It's almost uncomfortable thinking about shaking up what the Jays have going on, but I believe there are some clear opportunities to improve.
Step 1: Fill the clear holes. Get Leo Jimenez out of this lineup, PLEASE. The guy flat out cannot hit major league pitching. This may be solved internally when Andres Gimenez returns. You could pencil Andres back in and mix in reps for Clement and Schneider there when needed. Other bats that you could probably replace without disrupting team chemistry too much include Will Wagner and Joey Loperfido. The eventual return of Varsho might also solve this.
Step 2: Add some pop. The Jays seem to be comfortable trading power for contact skills. So far, it has worked. However, I'm a firm believer that you need power in the playoffs. Anybody that tells you otherwise is lying, the data backs it up. Teams that out-homer their opponent are almost always victorious. It's a lot harder to string together singles against elite playoff pitching. Sometimes you need a 3-run homer. If Vladdy is going to continue being satisfied as a $500M singles merchant, it has to come from an external source.
Deadline Trade Targets for the Blue Jays
Starting Pitchers
Photo via Fantasy Alarm
Adding an elite, true ace changes the feel of the rotation dramatically. Unfortunately, those guys are expensive and are like needles in a haystack at this deadline. Many have pointed to former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara with the Marlins, or Zac Gallen with the Dbacks. Unfortunately, both of those guys have flat-out SUCKED this season. To me, now is not the time to acquire a project like that.
Truly Elite Starting Pitchers who could be available:
Joe Ryan - MIN
Jacob deGrom - TEX
Nate Eovaldi - TEX
Mackenzie Gore - WAS
It's been 10 years since the Blue Jays traded for David Price at the deadline. The 4 guys I listed above would have that same kind of impact.
Mid-tier, Solid Starting Pitchers who may be available:
Nick Lodolo - CIN
Mitch Keller - PIT
Seth Lugo - KC
Kris Bubic - KC
Yusei Kikuchi - LAA
Merrill Kelly - AZ
Brandon Pfaadt - AZ
Adrian Houser - CWS
Adding one more depth starter would probably be wise. Either way, you're potentially pushing Scherzer into a bulk role in the bullpen, which could be valuable for the team. You could also consider a 6-man rotation, which keeps everyone extra fresh. This Blue Jays core of pitchers (especially Gausman) always seems to benefit from the extra days off.
Bullpen
Bullpen arms are always available. The cost is usually not insanely high, especially when it's for a rental.
Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twins/Getty Images
Top-end reliever trade targets:
Emmanuel Clase - CLE
Cade Smith - CLE
David Bednar - PIT
Mid-tier reliever trade targets:
Griffin Jax - MIN
Kenley Jansen - LAA
Carlos Estevez - KC
Emilio Pagan - CIN
Dennis Santana - PIT
Anthony Bender - MIA
Yenier Cano - BAL
Reed Detmers - LAA
Lucas Erceg - KC
Position Players
Photo via Norm Hall/Getty Images
In this field, there is one name that reigns supreme: Eugenio Suarez - Arizona Diamondbacks 3B. Suarez is undoubtedly the premier piece of the trade deadline, slugging 36+ homers and driving in almost 90 runs already for Arizona. Outside of Suarez, the star-power drop-off is sizeable. However, there are still some potentially impactful players out there, including:
Ryan O'Hearn - BAL - 1B, OF, DH
Ramon Laureano - BAL- OF
Cedric Mullins - BAL - OF
Jo Adell - LAA - OF
Taylor Ward - LAA - OF
Trevor Larnach - OF
Adolis Garcia - OF
My Dream Scenario
My absolute dream scenario would be the addition of 3B Eugenio Suarez, SP Nate Eovaldi, with Emmanuel Clase stepping into the closer role. Suarez would bring some much-needed power to the lineup and would likely put Barger in RF more often, with Clement manning 2B and replacing Bo and Vlad at SS and 1B when they need a DH day. Eovaldi would immediately slot in as the Jays Ace and would be the #1 in any playoff scenario. It would also push Max Scherzer into a bullpen role if everyone stayed healthy, but it also just lengthens the rotation in a scenario where some hits the IL. Finally, Emmanuel Clase would bring some fire to the back-end of the bullpen, taking some pressure off Jeff Hoffman and company.
Never going to happen, but a guy can dream, right? 😅
A More Realistic Outcome
I wouldn’t be shocked if the Jays land one big fish, but I think they will likely look to improve marginally around edges of the roster. I think they will add two relievers, likely from my mid-tier reliever list. I think they will add a depth starting pitcher, not an ace. I would be thrilled with any of the starting pitchers I mentioned above, but I have a gut feeling it might be a guy a tier below those mentioned.
I think if there is a big splash coming, it’s going to be a big bat. The way I see it, why would they need to add another mediocre offensive player? Are you really going to demote a guy like Joey Loperfido to bring in someone with a similar offensive profile? If they’re going to upgrade the offence, UPGRADE THE OFFENCE! Otherwise, keep running the guys you’ve got out there an hope they keep working their magic.
Regardless of how the trade deadline goes, we look to be in for an exciting end to the season. Enjoy it.