The Toronto Blue Jays enter MLB games today with one of the worst records in the American League, greatly underperforming expectations for the club coming into the 2024 season. As the MLB trade deadline draws closer, there seems to be a stronger chance of Toronto making serious changes.
Toronto boasts plenty of talent on its roster, with multi-time All-Star selections in both the Blue Jays lineup and starting rotation. Yet, the club has underperformed with a batting order that ranks 29th in runs scored (159) and 26th in slugging (.357) and a pitching staff placing 23rd in ERA (4.46) and 25th in WHIP (1.35).
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Unfortunately for Toronto, which sits well below the .500 mark, the American League is especially competitive this year. The Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers have emerged as threats for Wild Card spots, while the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Guardians have the best records in the league.
Realistically, barring an unexpected turnaround, the Blue Jays will be out of the playoff picture when the MLB trade deadline arrives. With that being the expectation, it’s sparked MLB trade rumors of Toronto being active sellers this summer.
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Addressing the Blue Jays’ situation on Foul Territory, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic shed light on what could be coming for Toronto.
“We’ve talked when we’ve spoken about the Jays and possibly being sellers, mostly about Guerrero and Bichette, who are free agents after next year…If you’re going to make a trade, who better to trade than Kevin Gausman…If the Jays do this, I don’t expect they will, then Kevin Gausman will be available.”
Ken Rosenthal on whether or not the Toronto Blue Jays will be sellers at the MLB trade deadline
An important point that Rosenthal makes is his informed speculation that the Blue Jays might not be sellers. As he points out, Toronto’s general manager Ross Atkins and president of baseball operations Mark Shapiro are nearing the end of their contracts. If they decided to become sellers this summer, it would be an indictment on the very roster they built.
Toronto could still certainly move a player like starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi or closer Jordan Romano, but trading Gausman or Vladimir Guerrero Jr. would be a far bigger statement regarding the direction of the club. For now, it appears the Blue Jays aren’t poised to be big-time sellers at the MLB trade deadline.
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