Twelve years after a trade at the GM Meetings gave Toronto the infield answer it was looking for, the Blue Jays may be headed back down a similar road.
Back in November 2014, Alex Anthopoulos used the Phoenix meetings to land Devon Travis from the Tigers, sending centre fielder Anthony Gose to Detroit in a move that caught plenty of people off guard. The deal came together on November 12, after the clubs had discussed it weeks earlier, circled back on Tuesday and finalized it Wednesday evening. Anthopoulos said scout David May helped push it across the finish line.
At the time, Travis was hardly a household name outside Detroit’s system. A 13th-round pick in 2012 out of Florida State, he had just been ranked the Tigers’ No. 1 prospect by Baseball America after hitting .298/.358/.460 with 10 home runs and 52 RBI in 100 games at Double-A Erie.
Toronto had been hunting for stability at second base, and the move fit because the club was dealing from outfield depth while also showing confidence in Dalton Pompey. Gose went to a Detroit club that planned to use him regularly in centre field, where he reunited with Rajai Davis.
The reaction was split. ESPN’s Keith Law called it “a failed prospect (Gose) for a non-prospect (Travis),” while Baseball America’s Ben Badler labeled it a “great move” for the Jays.
Travis quickly justified the bet. He made the roster out of spring training, homered off Chasen Shreve in his debut on April 6, 2015, and then took AL Rookie of the Month honors after batting .325/.393/.625 in April. Injuries eventually slowed him, and he retired in April 2021 at 30 years old with a .274/.314/.437 line, 35 home runs and 316 games, all in a Blue Jays uniform.
Gose’s path went in a completely different direction. He remains in the majors, but not as a centre fielder.
After the Tigers asked him to try pitching in 2017, he moved through three organizations before making his MLB pitching debut for Cleveland on September 20, 2021, when he reached 100.9 mph. His biggest career highlight may be the Olympic silver medal he won with Team USA in Tokyo.
Now the Blue Jays are staring at a second-base question again, and the old blueprint feels relevant.
Ernie Clement was an All-Star in the first half of 2026, but he faded badly late in the year, and Ross Atkins said Clement would have to “earn every bit of” the starting job in 2027. MLB Trade Rumors even listed Clement as a possible trade candidate, which makes an upgrade at the position easy to imagine.
The free-agent market has some familiar names. Brandon Lowe and Luis Arraez sit near the top of the list, with Lowe coming off 35 home runs for the Pirates in 2026 and Arraez still standing out as one of baseball’s best contact hitters. But Atkins has never been afraid to work the trade market, and that is where the more intriguing possibilities live.
CJ Abrams is the headline target. The Nationals shortstop is expected to be available after a 2026 season that saw him hit 33 home runs and drive in 106 runs, while also bringing the speed Toronto lacked last year.
He is projected for $10.2 million in arbitration, though he would not come cheaply. A deal would likely require the Blue Jays to give up two of their top young pitchers, with Trey Yesavage, Johnny King and Nolan Perry all mentioned as possible pieces.
Abrams has also said he does not want to move to second base full time.
Jeremy Peña is another name to watch if the Astros decide to trim salary. He could handle shortstop or second base and would strengthen the lineup; his .802 OPS would have led Toronto’s qualified hitters. The catch is that he is in the final year of his contract, which could make the Blue Jays cautious about the lack of term.
Then there is Matt Shaw, a different kind of swing. He does not carry the immediate certainty of Abrams or Peña, but he brings youth, control and versatility.
The question is whether he can produce over a full big-league season. Through 203 regular-season games, he has hit .230/.305/.399 with a 97 wRC+ and 18 home runs.
No one is promising a repeat of the Travis-Gose deal. But the shape of the opportunity looks awfully familiar: a clear need at second base, a chance to slide Clement into a utility role and a trade market with options. The only real question is how much Toronto is willing to pay.
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