The Blue Jays still have work to do, and the biggest need is obvious: pitching.
Toronto sits at 42-48 and remains 11.5 games back in the American League East, but the Wild Card picture keeps the club in the conversation. That means the front office is expected to be active at the trade deadline, with upgrades on both sides of the ball on the table. Given the injuries that have knocked the roster around all season, the Jays are facing some hard choices.
The challenge is that the top-end starting pitching market is going to cost a lot. If Toronto goes after one of the pricier arms, the price tag will be steep. That’s why a move for a strong but less expensive starter could make more sense.
CBS Sports recently floated exactly that kind of deal, predicting the Blue Jays would land Casey Mize from the Detroit Tigers.
“The last rental with a plausible claim to the "best pitcher in baseball" moniker to get traded at the deadline was David Price back in 2015. It's rare that guys this good get moved in-season.
Mize has quietly been terrific around a groin injury that required two injured list stints. With these two, Detroit will be in position to control the starting pitching market at the deadline.
Second baseman Gleyber Torres, also a rental, could be moved, though he's battled oblique trouble most of the year… Blue Jays for Mize,” Mike Axisa of CBS Sports wrote.
Mize has put together the best season of his career so far, posting a 2.64 ERA. He’s been effective when healthy, though the injury history remains part of the conversation. Still, he fits the kind of arm Toronto could target, and the source material frames him as someone with the potential to look like an ace in October.
In Other News...
Blue Jays Fans Will Love Who Just Got Dragged Back Into Focus
One of the sports most familiar and polarizing umpires is back in the conversation, and Blue Jays fans know exactly why that matters. C.B. Bucknor, who has been working MLB games since 1996, is among six umpires set to retire after the 2026 season, a list that also includes Laz Daz, Brian O'Nora, Lance Barksdale, Marvin Hudson and Tony Randazzo. For Toronto, Bucknors name still carries plenty of baggage, especially after a viral 2025 moment at Rogers Centre when Max Scherzer made a coin-flip gesture in response to his strike zone.
Bucknor has not worked since April 1 after taking a 100.2 mph fastball off his face mask in a Brewers-Rays game, and his recent absence has only added to the sense that one of baseballs longest-tenured umpires is nearing the end of the line. He has also been a frequent focal point in the leagues new Automated Ball-Strike Challenge system, with seven of his nine challenge calls overturned, the highest rate among MLB umpires. For a Blue Jays fan base that remembers the flashpoints, the timing of his retirement news is the kind of detail that gets noticed right away. [Read more 🡒]
ESPN Just Framed The Blue Jays Deadline Pressure Perfectly
With the trade deadline approaching, ESPNs Jeff Passan has put the Blue Jays in the kind of spotlight that usually comes with urgency, not comfort. His read is that Toronto is still operating like a club that could chase multiple upgrades, with pitching and position-player help both in play as the front office weighs how aggressively to push for a postseason spot.
Passans list of possible fits is broad enough to show just how many directions Toronto could go, from frontline arms to infield help and even catching depth. The bigger takeaway for the Blue Jays is the pressure baked into that kind of shopping list: if they are going to make a real push, they may need to act before the market and the standings leave them with fewer options. [Read more 🡒]
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Pulls Out Of All-Star Game At Crucial Time
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was voted in as the American Leagues starting first baseman for the 2026 All-Star Game, but he will not take part in the festivities. The Blue Jays slugger made the call before the starters were announced, choosing to use the break to recharge after a stretch in which his production has fallen short of expectations.
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 🡒]