The Toronto Blue Jays are staring at a deadline that could reshape the roster, and three familiar names sit right in the middle of it.
Toronto came into the season with World Series expectations. Instead, the club is seven games below .500 and buried in last place in the AL East, nearly 11 games behind the division lead and 4.5 games out of one of the three AL Wild Card spots.
With less than two weeks left before the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline, the front office has some tough calls to make.
The biggest decisions involve three veterans on expiring contracts: George Springer, Kevin Gausman, and Shane Bieber.
Springer is the most recognizable of the group. The 37-year-old has already sold his Lawrence Park home and reportedly moved temporarily into The Ritz-Carlton while he finishes what could be his final season in Toronto, or maybe his final season in the majors.
A deal involving him still looks unlikely, though. His contract and 10-and-5 no-trade rights give him control over where he goes, and his numbers at the plate don’t exactly have teams lining up.
Gausman may be the more realistic trade chip, and possibly the one who could bring back the best return. The veteran starter has six seasons of playoff experience and offers exactly what contenders chase in late July: innings and strikeouts.
Even with a 4-8 record, he has been steady. He ranks among the top 15 American League pitchers in strikeouts and quality starts, and sits in the top 10 in innings pitched.
That kind of reliability makes him an appealing option for teams trying to shore up a rotation.
Bieber is the hardest call of all. Toronto acquired the 31-year-old from the Cleveland Guardians at last year’s deadline, but the Blue Jays have barely seen him since.
He’s made only five starts this season after missing the first few months while recovering from a right forearm/elbow injury. Since returning in late June, he has struggled, putting up a 5.70 ERA and a career-worst 4.6 walks allowed per nine innings.
The Blue Jays would probably rather get something back for Bieber than let him leave for nothing in free agency this offseason. At the same time, his trade value has taken a hit because he hasn’t shown the form that won him the 2020 AL Cy Young Award.
For Toronto, the next two weeks could be a defining stretch.
In Other News...
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Just Faced A Brutal Rogers Centre Reality
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. heard it from the Rogers Centre crowd after another rough night at the plate, and the frustration around his season is starting to spill into the open. He went 0-for-4 in the recent game, leaving his line at .259 with a .695 OPS, and the bigger concern for Toronto is how little thunder has come at home from one of its most important bats.
Guerrero has not hit a home run at Rogers Centre this season, and his last Toronto homer came in Game 6 of the ALCS against Seattle. Even with the boos echoing after a night in which he came up with runners on base every time, John Schneider has not wavered in his belief in the slugger, a reminder that the Blue Jays still see Guerrero as a centerpiece even as the rest of the offense and the standings keep turning up the pressure. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Fans May Need A New Villain For This Collapse
Ross Atkins has spent plenty of time as the convenient target for Blue Jays frustration, but the clubs 2026 slide looks harder to pin on the front office than on the roster itself. The new additions have mostly done what they were brought in to do, giving Toronto at least some stability while the season has gone sideways around them.
The bigger problem has been the familiar core not carrying its weight, with offense sputtering and pitching depth thinned by injuries. Even the decisions that looked most consequential in the winter have not aged into the kind of easy scapegoat fans might want, which leaves the Blue Jays searching for a more immediate explanation for how a promising group ended up in this spot. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Just Pulled Off A Draft Swing Fans Will Notice
The Blue Jays have officially brought in Will Brick, an 18-year-old catching prospect whose signing gives the organization another young name to tuck into a system that has been paying closer attention to the position lately. Toronto selected Brick in the fourth round of the 2026 MLB Draft, and the deal now gives the club a fresh addition for the lower minors as it keeps building out its depth behind the plate.
What makes this one stand out is how Toronto got it done. The club managed its draft pool with enough discipline to make the bonus work, leaning on savings from other picks to create room for Bricks agreement. For a team trying to stockpile catching talent without losing flexibility elsewhere, it was the kind of maneuver that says as much about the front offices planning as it does about the player himself. [Read more 🡒]