As the trade deadline creeps closer, the Blue Jays are still being treated like buyers - even if the standings keep nudging them in the other direction.
Toronto heads into Monday night’s game in San Francisco against the Giants sitting three games back of a Wild Card spot and 11.5 games behind the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays. That kind of gap would usually push a team toward selling.
ESPN analyst Jeff Passan isn’t buying that idea here. In his latest Top 100 trade deadline candidates update, he still has the Blue Jays in the mix for more than a dozen possible targets ahead of Aug.
That doesn’t mean Toronto is expected to chase every name on the list. The point is simpler: the Blue Jays still look like a logical fit for a wide range of players if they decide to make a real push.
The catch is timing. If they’re serious about getting back into the race, waiting another month may be too long.
The trouble is, plenty of teams around them are in the same position.
Passan’s list gives Toronto options all over the board. On the pitching side, he has the Blue Jays tied to Tarik Skubal, Joe Ryan, Reid Detmers, Casey Mize, Robbie Ray, and Freddy Peralta.
Skubal is in a different tier from the rest. Even with the recent injury, he’s the biggest difference-maker on the market and the kind of arm that can change a team’s ceiling immediately.
The others would still strengthen Toronto’s rotation, but the final call would likely come down to cost and priority.
The same goes for the position players Passan linked to the Blue Jays: SS Jeremy Peña, SS CJ Abrams, 2B Luis Arraez, and 1B Wilson Contreras. Any one of them would improve Toronto’s lineup right now and would probably jump ahead of more than half the current order.
But the real question is whether Toronto is focused on the fringes or the core. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer, Daulton Varsho and Alejandro Kirk are the names that matter most in the middle of the lineup. None of the position players Passan listed - with maybe Contreras as an exception - would clearly take playing time from that group, even if the numbers say they could help.
That leaves the Blue Jays with a choice about where to spend. If one of those bats is available, Toronto could decide the lineup needs more attention than the rotation.
Passan also connected the club to three relievers: Aroldis Chapman, Josh Hader, and Jose Soriano. All three would fit into the late innings, and the Blue Jays bullpen would take any of them in a hurry.
It would also fit a familiar pattern for GM Ross Atkins. He has a track record of adding bullpen help at the deadline, including Louis Varland and Seranthony Dominguez last year, and Jordan Hicks and Génesis Cabrera in 2023.
Still, relief pitching may not be the top priority this time. The price tag on each target will matter, and Toronto has to balance that against the other holes it needs to fill.
Even if the Blue Jays do decide to sell, it wouldn’t necessarily wipe out the next season too. There’s enough already in place that a move at the 2026 deadline wouldn’t automatically wreck 2027.
Guerrero and Kirk aren’t going anywhere. Ernie Clement, Andrés Giménez, and Kazuma Okamoto - the MLB Rookie of the Month for June - are also expected to stay put.
Dylan Cease and Trey Yesavage would still be in the rotation, while Louis Varland, Tyler Rogers and Braydon Fisher would remain in the bullpen.
There are also prospects who have shown promise this season, along with players coming back from injuries who could be looking for fresh starts in 2027. Toronto’s 2026 season hasn’t gone the way anyone wanted, but it isn’t finished yet - and it doesn’t have to define what comes next, either.
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For Toronto, the timing matters as much as the decision itself. Guerrero has been managing a lower back issue for about a month, and the plan is to give him space to get right for the second half, where the Blue Jays will need him closer to his best. He also thanked the fans who put him in position to start, leaving the club with a notable absence but a clear reminder that the bigger priority is what comes after the break. [Read more 🡒]