General Blue Jays Discussion Thread (2025)

[jaysblue]

Jacob deGrom or Sonny Gray would be perfect targets as top of the rotation arms. If they would waive their no-trade clauses though! 

[max silver]

43 minutes ago, jaysblue said:

Jacob deGrom or Sonny Gray would be perfect targets as top of the rotation arms. If they would waive their no-trade clauses though! 

DeGrom would be awesome but it's probably a coin flip at best that he doesn't miss a huge chunk of time given how injury prone he is. Given how surprisingly competitive the Cardinals have been it's far from a given that they'd be looking to trade their most effective rotation member.

[John_Havok]

2 hours ago, jaysblue said:

Jacob deGrom or Sonny Gray would be perfect targets as top of the rotation arms. If they would waive their no-trade clauses though! 

Think the Skenes trade rumors have any weight? 

For Skenes ...man that's a haul waiting to happen

[jaysblue]

17 minutes ago, John_Havok said:

Think the Skenes trade rumors have any weight? 

For Skenes ...man that's a haul waiting to happen

Pirates are an awful organization and it wouldn't surprise me if they do move him in the next year or so. Crazy to think it could come as early as this trade deadline. 

Skenes probably wants out of Pittsburgh anyways. 

[jaysblue]

2 hours ago, max silver said:

DeGrom would be awesome but it's probably a coin flip at best that he doesn't miss a huge chunk of time given how injury prone he is. Given how surprisingly competitive the Cardinals have been it's far from a given that they'd be looking to trade their most effective rotation member.

Yeah Cards have actually been quite decent this season.

With deGrom, his high AAV would be a concern, given how injury prone he is, though I believe he just has two years remaining after this season. So nothing crippling long term and Jays will have money off the books next offseason anyways. He's been real dominant so far this season. If I'm Texas, I look to move that contract. Having him and Scherzer in the same rotation would be super cool. 

[Spanky__99]

3 hours ago, jaysblue said:

Jacob deGrom or Sonny Gray would be perfect targets as top of the rotation arms. If they would waive their no-trade clauses though! 

Why would either of these guys be available?

[John_Havok]

2 hours ago, jaysblue said:

Pirates are an awful organization and it wouldn't surprise me if they do move him in the next year or so. Crazy to think it could come as early as this trade deadline. 

Skenes probably wants out of Pittsburgh anyways. 

What do you think would need to ge given up by the Jays, hypothetically?

Would anyone be off the table? 

[Perfect Game]

Jays Release Swanson:

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/toronto-blue-jays

 

[jaysblue]

10 hours ago, Spanky__99 said:

Why would either of these guys be available?

Rangers (38-41) likely not making the Postseason, though deGrom has a full no trade clause. They probably would love to unload the remaining years and money left on his contract if they could. 

As for the Cardinals (43-36), they weren't expected to be competing this season, but here we are. If they keep this up after the All-Star Break, they likely will be buyers. If the Cardinals wanted to retool for next season, Gray could bring in some nice pieces if he waived his no-trade clause. There have been rumours before about the Cardinals wanting to trade Gray, and even Gray being unhappy about the Cardinals rebuild after he signed that 3 year/$75M deal. 

 

[Spanky__99]

5 minutes ago, jaysblue said:

Rangers (38-41) likely not making the Postseason, though deGrom has a full no trade clause. They probably would love to unload the remaining years and money left on his contract if they could. 

As for the Cardinals (43-36), they weren't expected to be competing this season, but here we are. If they keep this up after the All-Star Break, they likely will be buyers. If the Cardinals wanted to retool for next season, Gray could bring in some nice pieces if he waived his no-trade clause. There have been rumours before about the Cardinals wanting to trade Gray, and even Gray being unhappy about the Cardinals rebuild after he signed that 3 year/$75M deal. 

 

Both clubs will not be selling at this rate, it can change of course, but it isn't happening as of now. Be real, man.

[jaysblue]

9 hours ago, John_Havok said:

What do you think would need to ge given up by the Jays, hypothetically?

Would anyone be off the table? 

Package starts with Arjun Nimmala and Trey Yesavage I would imagine if the Jays don't trade anyone off their MLB roster. Barger would interest them as well, but that creates another hole in the Jays lineup after. Pirates definitely would like to get their hands on both a high upside bat and arm. 

Skenes has 4 years left before he hits free agency. Pirates likely asking for a haul if they moved him. 

[jaysblue]

2 minutes ago, Spanky__99 said:

Both clubs will not be selling at this rate, it can change of course, but it isn't happening as of now. Be real, man.

It's called a forum for discussion. Said it would be nice if either were available. 

You be real man! You should start offering up suggestions and adding to discussion rather than your typical three-four word answers/responses in most threads! 

[BTS]

9 hours ago, John_Havok said:

What do you think would need to ge given up by the Jays, hypothetically?

Would anyone be off the table? 

Jays don't have the pieces. Red Sox probably offer Roman Anthony ++. Orioles Basallo + a haul etc.. 

[SuperFuzzBigMuff]

16 minutes ago, jaysblue said:

It's called a forum for discussion. Said it would be nice if either were available. 

You be real man! You should start offering up suggestions and adding to discussion rather than your typical three-four word answers/responses in most threads! 

You sound like Blue Jays Insider. 

[Spanky__99]

1 hour ago, jaysblue said:

It's called a forum for discussion. Said it would be nice if either were available. 

You be real man! You should start offering up suggestions and adding to discussion rather than your typical three-four word answers/responses in most threads! 

I did add to the discussion tool, right now they aren't moving them, duh!

[BB17]

On 6/23/2025 at 11:03 AM, BatFlip said:

I posted this before, but Rogers is looking to aggressively reduce their debt load after acquiring Shaw a few years ago.  Rogers management has been vocal with investors (including on the last quarterly conference call) about monetizing their sports holdings (Blue Jays/MLSE) through either an IPO or partial/whole divesture.

After trying and failing to sign Ohtani and other marquee names during the last couple offseasons, they probably concluded the following:

• Guerrero is the face of the franchise with mainstream fans and the most marketable player on the roster.  Mainstream fans would be quite upset in the short-term if they traded him or let him walk.
• Without Guerrero on the roster, they believed it would be more challenging to sign other marquee free agents to the roster.
• $500M is a huge sum, but in the short-term, Guerrero's $40M per year won't hamstring the roster, given he's already close to $30M/year now.
• Atkins/Shapiro probably concluded the contract was $100 - $150M too rich, but that Guerrero still had the upside of an elite player. 
• The premium above would be amortized over 14 years, the premium was worth it to Rogers as they look to maximize the current appeal and value of the team.

In the end, the short-term impact of losing Guerrero on the franchise's current fan and brand appeal outweighed the long-term possibility of an albatross contract, given the transaction Rogers is exploring.  

I'm not defending the contract, I hated it and think we grossly overpaid.  But as you hinted at, there were clearly other factors at play and I'm not going to browbeat Atkins/Shapiro for this one.

 

I agree with a lot of this. The sad part about it though is they still could have signed him back, just for far less than what they paid. Vladdy wouldn't have gotten even 400M this offseason given how he's played so far.

Shapiro has been right about one thing and that's no one player is worth more than their contract in a marketing aspect other than Ohtani. If Rogers paid more money to Vladdy because they thought he was going to make them $ based on marketing well they are in for a rude awakening. People only give a s*** if the team wins, and only then when the team is winning will they latch on to "stars" of that team.

Last year was a prime example, no one paid extra money in September to see Vladdy play on a team that wasn't competitive. Even in the Halladay years the Jays might have gotten an extra 1000 fans at most on his starts.

[glory]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/45568636/ranking-mlb-trade-deadline-candidates-alex-bregman-jarren-duran

Not a surprise the Jays are listed as one of the best fits for all the SP's except Eflin. Don't see them listed as a fit for any of the position players. They will obviously add to the rotation and possibly bullpen, but it will be interesting to see if they add to the lineup.

Of the names listed there, one that jumps out to me, even though I'd prefer Barger at 3B the rest of the way, is Suarez. Like it or not (I don't), it certainly appears that Clement is likely starting at 3B most nights even when everyone is healthy. If Barger is going to play a lot of RF regardless, then might as well have it be for a 30-40 HR bat at 3B that doesn't have a massive platoon split. Then you can platoon Gimenez/Clement at 2B, and the OF defense is probably better with Barger in RF over Tony/Springer. I highly doubt the Jays go this route, but might be a reasonable path to add to the lineup. Then put Barger at 3B in 2026.

Either way, the rotation is clearly the most pressing need. What they do there is going to determine a lot. They not only need a 2025 upgrade, but 2026-27 as well, so someone with some control is probably necessary. 

[BB17]

I think Jays could use another good reliever as well at the deadline. I guess if Garcia came back and looked elite it would go a long way but I feel you can never have enough good pitching. Assuming they got to the postseason they would have one of the weaker rotations so another reliever would help mitigate that.

 

[Brownie19]

2 hours ago, BB17 said:

I agree with a lot of this. The sad part about it though is they still could have signed him back, just for far less than what they paid. Vladdy wouldn't have gotten even 400M this offseason given how he's played so far.

Ironically, Vlad is actually ahead of where he was offensively this year v. last year (at the same point in time).  Obviously no guarantee he goes off the rest of this season (like he did last year), but it also reminds you that there is still time for him to be an offensive force this year.  Time will tell.

[G-Snarls]

42 minutes ago, glory said:

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/45568636/ranking-mlb-trade-deadline-candidates-alex-bregman-jarren-duran

Not a surprise the Jays are listed as one of the best fits for all the SP's except Eflin. Don't see them listed as a fit for any of the position players. They will obviously add to the rotation and possibly bullpen, but it will be interesting to see if they add to the lineup.

Of the names listed there, one that jumps out to me, even though I'd prefer Barger at 3B the rest of the way, is Suarez. Like it or not (I don't), it certainly appears that Clement is likely starting at 3B most nights even when everyone is healthy. If Barger is going to play a lot of RF regardless, then might as well have it be for a 30-40 HR bat at 3B that doesn't have a massive platoon split. Then you can platoon Gimenez/Clement at 2B, and the OF defense is probably better with Barger in RF over Tony/Springer. I highly doubt the Jays go this route, but might be a reasonable path to add to the lineup. Then put Barger at 3B in 2026.

Either way, the rotation is clearly the most pressing need. What they do there is going to determine a lot. They not only need a 2025 upgrade, but 2026-27 as well, so someone with some control is probably necessary. 

Good point 

Our strong point has been stability in the rotation from Gausman Berrios and Bassitt. As we start to lose those guys we need replacements who will stick.  Someone with 1.5 or 2.5 years if control would be ideal vs a rental. 

[BB17]

1 hour ago, Brownie19 said:

Ironically, Vlad is actually ahead of where he was offensively this year v. last year (at the same point in time).  Obviously no guarantee he goes off the rest of this season (like he did last year), but it also reminds you that there is still time for him to be an offensive force this year.  Time will tell.

Yeah but I think everyone knows  even with a 150 wRC+ Vladdy still wouldn't have gotten that same contract which is why everyone hated it. His xwOBA is actually higher than last year so maybe once the weather heats up some of his flyballs will turn into HR. This is purely anecdotal but I feel Rogers Centre hurts him a bit as some of his hard hit fly balls are so hard he turns doubles into singles. If you put him in place like Comerica with a giant OF he would have a lot more extra base hits. 

The most frustrating part about him is everyone can see how talented he is and knows that he could be a Pujols/Miggy type but that for whatever reason he still can't figure out how to hit the ball in the air more. Obviously easier said than done and maybe he's tried to do that which then screws his swing up entirely and maybe we just have to accept him as a guy who is a .300 hitter with 25-30 HR and not a 40HR guy.

 

[Perfect Game]

The Blue Jays and Marlins are finalizing a trade that’ll send right-hander Robinson Piña from Miami to Toronto for minor league pitcher Colby Martin.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/toronto-blue-jays

[Eat My Shatkins]

Jays have traded RP Colby Martin to the Marlins for SP Robinson Pina.

Pina has a 3.47 ERA in 13 AAA appearances this season.

Starting pitching depth is good.

[Masterbather]

9 minutes ago, Perfect Game said:

The Blue Jays and Marlins are finalizing a trade that’ll send right-hander Robinson Piña from Miami to Toronto for minor league pitcher Colby Martin.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/toronto-blue-jays

Okay, decent depth move. 

[L54]

18 hours ago, Spanky__99 said:

Both clubs will not be selling at this rate, it can change of course, but it isn't happening as of now. Be real, man.

Tell Eno Sarris that 

[L54]

Jays should target Merrill Kelly. Free agent, old as dust, shouldn’t cost much 

I don’t know how or why he’s good but he’s had a low 3’s ERA for three of the four past seasons 

[G-Snarls]

If the Rays pass the Yankees in the standings and we're stuck in 3rd place I'll puke 

[John_Havok]

12 hours ago, G-Snarls said:

If the Rays pass the Yankees in the standings and we're stuck in 3rd place I'll puke 

f***ing Rays. Every year someone down there sells their soul for another year of getting max results out of a middling group

[BatFlip]

5 hours ago, John_Havok said:

f***ing Rays. Every year someone down there sells their soul for another year of getting max results out of a middling group

Eventually they should run out of souls

[John_Havok]

5 minutes ago, BatFlip said:

Eventually they should run out of souls

They'd just trade for more