An Early Look At The Blue Jays' Trade Deadline Needs

[Bryan Jaeger]

All stats are prior to the June 24 game.

With the trade deadline a month away, the Toronto Blue Jays find themselves 8.5 games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East, but have a game lead for the last Wild Card spot. The Blue Jays' unexpectedly slow start isn’t only performance-based; injuries in the first half of the season have also decimated them. 

The starting rotation has seen José Berríos and Bowden Francis undergo Tommy John surgery, Cody Ponce tear his ACL in his first start, and Max Scherzer has already made two injury list stints this season, but has been abysmal in his six starts. Luckily, Shane Bieber made his season debut on June 23; however, the depth is depleted. 

That makes starting pitching a must-need to target at the trade deadline. Ross Atkins has already stated in a recent media interview that “he likes the current group, but has interest in more because you can never have enough starters." The good thing about how the standings look now is that it may be a seller's market. 

Speaking to media at Rogers Centre, Ross Atkins says starting pitching is likely atop Blue Jays’ wish list at the trade deadline. Atkins says he likes Jays’ current group but has interest in more because you can never have enough starters.

— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) June 23, 2026

Many division leaders already have a sizeable lead, and though the Wild Card looks congested, teams likely won’t want to be buyers chasing a Wild Card spot with so many teams vying. The Blue Jays don’t need a Tarik Skubal-type front-end starter; they need a back-end inning eater that can be productive. 

They’ve shown in the past a preference for targeting controllable pitchers, which makes the Los Angeles Angels’ Reid Detmers a name to watch. He turns 27 a few weeks before the trade deadline and is under team control through the 2028 season.

Another trade-deadline need is a power bat. Anthony Santander needed left shoulder labral surgery late in the offseason, which will keep him out until possibly late September or October. Though he struggled, hitting only six home runs over an injury-plagued 2025 season, the Blue Jays were hoping he’d be healthy and would show a glimpse of his 2024 form. That season, Santander hit 44 home runs with the Baltimore Orioles.

Not having Santander isn’t the only issue for the Blue Jays, who rank 22nd in home runs. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is going through a massive power drought with only four long balls through 318 plate appearances. His barrel percentage (6.9 percent) is a career low, and his 42.9 percent hard-hit rate is his lowest since Vladdy’s 2019 rookie season.

Kazuma Okamoto is the only Blue Jay to have more than nine homers. His 17 is nine more than the second-best total from George Springer. There are five players with seven home runs, but everyone else has fewer than five. Addressing the power deficiency would greatly help a team that also ranks 22nd in runs per game (4.14). 

ESPN insider Jeff Passan has linked Toronto to a few different sluggers, who would add an instant boost. He has predicted a connection to CJ Abrams, who is under team control through the 2028 season; Willson Contreras, who is signed through the 2027 season with a club option for 2028; and Christian Walker, who is under contract through the 2027 season. 

Abrams and Contreras would be the ideal power threats to target because their team control exceeds 2027 when there’s a threat of a lockout, depending on how the Collective Bargaining Agreement is handled during the offseason. One thing is for sure: the Blue Jays need improvements at the trade deadline if they want to make another deep postseason run. 

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[Jesse Burrill]

It feels like we still need one more high-impact bullpen arm. Antonio Senzatela is my guy

[Bob_Gratton]

14 hours ago, Jesse Burrill said:

It feels like we still need one more high-impact bullpen arm. Antonio Senzatela is my guy

Need more than just bullpen help. Another SP that can be our # 2 in the rotation between Cease and Gausman, 2 more bats , one to send Springer on the bench, the other to replace Vlad in batting order

[jaysblue]

Detmers would be a nice add. Jays could also use a lefty in the rotation. 

As for bats, they need more power from anywhere doesn't matter what position it comes from at this point. 

[Brownie19]

2 hours ago, jaysblue said:

Detmers would be a nice add. Jays could also use a lefty in the rotation. 

As for bats, they need more power from anywhere doesn't matter what position it comes from at this point. 

Detmers would cost us the farm.

[Brownie19]

19 hours ago, Jesse Burrill said:

It feels like we still need one more high-impact bullpen arm. Antonio Senzatela is my guy

I'm not sure he Dad even says this 🤣

[Bryan Jaeger]

Yeah, Detmers will likely cost a good bit, but Atkins has shown he likes controllable pitchers.  However, Detmers is a good option in the rotation or bullpen. I also like Clayton Beeter of the Washington Nationals and Riley O'Brien of the St. Louis Cardinals for bullpen help, if they become available. 

[Brownie19]

25 minutes ago, Bryan Jaeger said:

Yeah, Detmers will likely cost a good bit, but Atkins has shown he likes controllable pitchers.  However, Detmers is a good option in the rotation or bullpen. I also like Clayton Beeter of the Washington Nationals and Riley O'Brien of the St. Louis Cardinals for bullpen help, if they become available. 

What is Beeter doing that you like him?  6.66 BB/9, 4.54 xFIP, velo down, K's down

[Orgfiller]

29 minutes ago, Bryan Jaeger said:

Yeah, Detmers will likely cost a good bit, but Atkins has shown he likes controllable pitchers.  However, Detmers is a good option in the rotation or bullpen. I also like Clayton Beeter of the Washington Nationals and Riley O'Brien of the St. Louis Cardinals for bullpen help, if they become available. 

They won't spend the price to acquire Detmers to put him back into the bullpen, especially with the issues the rotation has been having this season. The Angels are going to be valuing him like Crochet, with less upside but slightly more team control - 2.5 vs 2 arb seasons at the time of trade.

[Buster]

this assumes the Jays are buyers.  I'm not sure that will be obvious.

[jaysblue]

7 hours ago, Brownie19 said:

Detmers would cost us the farm.

We’re talking about the Angels here, haha.

But yeah, he won’t be cheap.

If the Jays want to add some rotation depth and innings, someone like Seth Lugo or Michael Wacha could make sense. Nothing flashy, but either guy would at least raise the floor down the stretch and give them some protection if injuries pop up again.

[Bob_Gratton]

17 hours ago, jaysblue said:

Detmers would be a nice add. Jays could also use a lefty in the rotation. 

As for bats, they need more power from anywhere doesn't matter what position it comes from at this point. 

Hopefully, Keys can bring power and replace Springer,DH so will only need get someone like Yordan Alvarez to play LF or Gunnar Henderson  SS. Why Baltimore can part away with Henderson? First they have another bad season this year, also in 2028 he will be UFA, and next year he will receive a big salary increase, so they will want prospects like King and Parker to rebuild.

[gruber9292]

9 hours ago, Bob_Gratton said:

Hopefully, Keys can bring power and replace Springer,DH so will only need get someone like Yordan Alvarez to play LF or Gunnar Henderson  SS. Why Baltimore can part away with Henderson? First they have another bad season this year, also in 2028 he will be UFA, and next year he will receive a big salary increase, so they will want prospects like King and Parker to rebuild.

If Atkins trades King or Parker, the fans should boycott. I would trade Nimmala/Stanifer before those two. 

[jaysblue]

28 minutes ago, gruber9292 said:

If Atkins trades King or Parker, the fans should boycott. I would trade Nimmala/Stanifer before those two. 

I don't think most casual fans know who both those guys are. I guarantee you walk around the Corona Rooftop bar and ask, you'll get a lot of blank faces lol. 

[Bob_Gratton]

3 hours ago, gruber9292 said:

If Atkins trades King or Parker, the fans should boycott. I would trade Nimmala/Stanifer before those two. 

This depend for who they can trade them. If this is for a young player like Henderson or a top SP like Skubal, fans will agree, but if this is for a older guy like Alvarez, even if he's great, this will be a mistake. Nimmala and Stanifer at max, can bring a reliever, but no a good hitter like Alvarez.

[glory]

21 hours ago, Buster said:

this assumes the Jays are buyers.  I'm not sure that will be obvious.

If they are still under .500 three weeks from now then they should be sellers, or at least dipping their feet in both (ex. trading impending FAs but still looking out for controllable help). I don’t expect them to operate like that but trading any prospect with a modicum of upside for a rental to increase chances at the 3rd WC spot would be foolish.

[Buster]

Only the most delusion would believe the Jays shouldn't be sellers. 

What are our top trade pieces? 

Do we sell high on Clement? 

Our veterans have no value.

[JaysFan99]

1 hour ago, Buster said:

Only the most delusion would believe the Jays shouldn't be sellers. 

What are our top trade pieces? 

Do we sell high on Clement? 

Our veterans have no value.

There’s probably a market for Gausman even though he hasn’t been good lately. I’m sure a team would take Varsho as well.

[jaysblue]

2 hours ago, Buster said:

Only the most delusion would believe the Jays shouldn't be sellers. 

What are our top trade pieces? 

Do we sell high on Clement? 

Our veterans have no value.

Clement isn't going anywhere. He is the most marketable player on the Jays and probably one of the most marketable players in the MLB now haha. 

[Buster]

15 minutes ago, jaysblue said:

Clement isn't going anywhere. He is the most marketable player on the Jays and probably one of the most marketable players in the MLB now haha. 

I agree but his value would be insane.  They would probably be selling high.

[Bob_Gratton]

Clement need to stay, idem with Okamoto, Lukes, Kirk, Pinango, Valenzuela, Keys, 

11 minutes ago, Buster said:

I agree but his value would be insane.  They would probably be selling high.

Clement, Okamoto, Lukes, Kirk, Valenzuela, Keys, Pinango, Yesevage, Varland, Cease, Rogers, should stay. All the other can be traded. I would like a swap Guerrero for Tatis Jr, this will open a spot at 1B for Keys.

[Stangstag]

14 hours ago, jaysblue said:

I don't think most casual fans know who both those guys are. I guarantee you walk around the Corona Rooftop bar and ask, you'll get a lot of blank faces lol. 

I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a fan in that section that can even name 3 blue jays not named Vlad.

[Stangstag]

4 hours ago, Buster said:

Only the most delusion would believe the Jays shouldn't be sellers. 

What are our top trade pieces? 

Do we sell high on Clement? 

Our veterans have no value.

I’d think Gausman definitely has value, even with his recent struggles. Bieber would be another piece to move. Varsho would definitely be desirable by most teams around the league, and im sure someone would be willing to take a flyer on Hoffman.

[jmomcc]

On 6/27/2026 at 6:05 AM, gruber9292 said:

If Atkins trades King or Parker, the fans should boycott. I would trade Nimmala/Stanifer before those two. 

I think I’d almost always rather trade pitchers than hitters. I’d be extremely reticent personally to trade Nimmala. 

[jmomcc]

If we sold we could get pieces for 

- Gausman 

- Bieber 

- Springer

- Varsho 

They would automatically go I’d say. 

Then you’d probably consider Hoffman. Maybe Nance. 

Varland if you got a mason miller type offer where the return is kind of unheard of for a reliever. 

 

[hanton]

can probably get a good haul for Gausman, not sure about anyone else.  Don't forget we traded a top 10 prospect  for an injured Bieber

[Spanky__99]

1 hour ago, jmomcc said:

If we sold we could get pieces for 

- Gausman 

- Bieber 

- Springer

- Varsho 

They would automatically go I’d say. 

Then you’d probably consider Hoffman. Maybe Nance. 

Varland if you got a mason miller type offer where the return is kind of unheard of for a reliever. 

 

If the Jays are within a sniff of 5 GB, they'll be buying. Silly to think otherwise. Those guys aren't going anywhere. 😅

[jmomcc]

56 minutes ago, Spanky__99 said:

If the Jays are within a sniff of 5 GB, they'll be buying. Silly to think otherwise. Those guys aren't going anywhere. 😅

I think if we are at or above say 30% playoff odds? So realistically more than 5 GB. 

Right now I’d say way more likely buy than sell. 

[Spanky__99]

8 minutes ago, jmomcc said:

I think if we are at or above say 30% playoff odds? So realistically more than 5 GB. 

Right now I’d say way more likely buy than sell. 

Agreed, at worst they stand pat.

[jaysblue]

If the Jays are 5 GB of WC3, I don't think they go on a huge shopping spree to go "all-in" for 2026. More likely target players with some control beyond 2026, who could help next season and who might be able to help down the stretch if they still felt like they could contend.

Even if the Jays sold off on some pieces on expiring contracts, given how weak the AL is, they could still potentially sneak into the last WC spot if they started playing better in August/September - kind of like how Cleveland were sellers at the deadline last season and they ended up winning their division.