With about 31 hours left before the trade deadline, the Jays still haven’t done anything, and that silence is starting to stand out. A move still feels likely, but the hold-up has left the club in an odd spot, especially with the deadline closing in and the roster still intact. There’s been so little chatter that the wait has become part of the story.
One deal did break through the noise, though: the Dodgers landed Tarik Skubal. The return wasn’t massive by the standards of a true ace trade, and that’s where things get interesting for Toronto. The Tigers came away with three players - Zyhir Hope, River Ryan and Brady Smith - and each comes with some level of intrigue.
Hope is a 21-year-old left-handed hitting outfielder who is batting .293/.369/.530 with 23 home runs in 94 games at Double-A Tulsa. He does strike out a fair bit, but the speed is there.
Ryan is 27, a right-handed pitcher with an “upper 90s” fastball and a slider with good control. Injuries have slowed him down, including Tommy John, and he’s also working back from a hamstring injury, but the expectation is that the Tigers would call him up once he’s ready.
Smith is another righty, 21 years old, and he’s been hit hard in A ball this year even while piling up 113 strikeouts in 74.1 innings. He’s had Tommy John as well, throws in the mid-90s, and pairs that with a very good changeup and a slider.
The feeling is that he could wind up in the bullpen, though that’s not set in stone.
That package may not feel like enough for one of the best pitchers in baseball, but it does hint that the Jays might not be able to get quite as much for Kevin Gausman as some would hope. Still, all three players were on Baseball America’s top 100 prospect list, and that’s the benchmark being used here. One top 100 prospect for Gausman would be a very good outcome.
Bo Bichette, meanwhile, doesn’t sound like a real trade candidate. The sense was already that a move was unlikely, and his salary makes it even less appealing. There was even a mention of the Jays trading for him, but that doesn’t seem remotely realistic, even if he’s still fun to watch.
As for today’s lineup, Urias is back in the leadoff spot, and Springer is in the outfield. That could be something teams are watching, since there have been a lot of left-handed starters lately. There are 51 games left.
In Other News...
Blue Jays Just Made A Deadline Bet Fans Will Debate For Years
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For the Angels, the return underscored a different kind of urgency, one centered on young position-player talent and a longer view of the roster. Toronto paid a real price to get the deal done, and whenever a team sends out a top prospect in a move like this, the aftermath tends to linger well beyond the deadline. The question now is whether the Blue Jays got the kind of rotation help they needed badly enough to justify parting with that sort of future value. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Deadline Selloff Just Took A Bigger Turn Than Expected
Torontos deadline selloff keeps taking on a different shape, and the latest move only underscores how committed the Blue Jays are to the rebuild. Established pieces are still in play as the club shifts toward the future, and the front office has shown a willingness to move players who had been part of the recent core rather than simply trimming around the edges.
One of the most notable names in that churn was on the move to a contender, with Houston looking to shore up its outfield for a playoff push. The appeal is obvious from the Astros side, given the defensive value and October background attached to the player they added, while for Toronto it marks another step in a deadline that has already gone farther than many around the team expected. [Read more 🡒]
Blue Jays Just Made A Kevin Gausman Deadline Decision Fans Will Judge
With the MLB trade deadline closing in, the Blue Jays made a move that underscored how aggressively they were willing to reshape their roster. Kevin Gausman is headed to the Cubs, a team that has been scrambling for rotation help amid injuries, and Toronto is taking a step that will be debated heavily by fans who have watched him anchor the staff.
The return gives Toronto a pair of young pieces to work with in outfielder Brett Bateman and infielder Ty Southisene, a sign the front office is balancing present needs against future value. For a club trying to thread that needle in a deadline market that rewards urgency, this is the kind of decision that can look smart in one light and hard to stomach in another, depending on what comes next. [Read more 🡒]