jaysblue

Berrios Keller Gausman Bassitt Lauer Scherzer Manoah Francis Nice depth for sure if Keller is added. Tough right now in terms of who you would lock into the Jays Postseason rotation other than around 2 names. I guess depends on how everyone is pitching and who has been dealing leading into October. Like for example, if Scherzer puts together a string of starts like he did vs. the Yankees on June 30th, you have to factor him into the rotation. But yeah that's a huge IF haha.

People tend to forget that Bednar is already 30 and last season looked toast. Granted, he's bounced back big this season so that's a plus, but couldn't care about how much control a 30+ year old reliever has left. He is only under control for one more season anyways, so not crazy about giving up a top guy like Nimmala + more to get Bednar included in a deal. As for Keller, he has control for three more seasons and Atkins historically has liked trading for players with control. $16.9M in 2026, $18.4M in 2027 and $20.4M in 2028, which is quite reasonable if he continues to post 2-3 WAR seasons. Pirates might want to rid themselves of that contract anyways, so who knows what they ask for. Keller is a solid arm, but he's no different than what the Jays have right now IMO with Berrios, Gausman and Bassitt. He's a solid mid-rotation arm and in essence replaces Bassitt for next season. As well, Jays would save money with Keller since signing a similar starter likely would be around $20M+ AAV per season. You can never have enough pitching especially down the stretch, so Keller would be a nice addition. Not an ace by any means, though he could start a Postseason game for sure and maybe Pete Walker could untap some more potential from him.

Yeah this team has been its most competitive when they've had teams solid offensively (2015, 2016, 2021 and now currently). When the Jays have had elite pitching and no bats (for example, 2008, 2022, 2023), things were frustrating at times and those teams were never really able to go on a run like we saw the other teams and this years team has done. Makes you want to conclude that it's more important to have a very good lineup that could also field very well, over elite pitching during the regular season. If this team could add deGrom to the top of the rotation, this Jays team becomes a serious World Series contender.

Ironic that when the pitching staff has been lights out in the past (whether it was earlier this season or in 2023 for example), the hitting was mediocre during those stretches. During those time periods, the team never really went on a run like they have over this last month. Things just feel different and the results in the standings show.

Winning streaks like this make all the difference! Something we haven't seen in years.

Is Ricardo Rincon available?

Great start to the road trip! Let's finish out the first half strong by beating up on the White Sox and A's!

Also, not many other contenders can take on his $37M AAV like the Blue Jays would be able to. Rays, Brewers, and Tigers are out for sure. Yankees, Mets, Dodgers and Phillies likely can't add on that future salary anyways. Maybe the Giants, Cubs, & Padres in the NL I suppose. Possibly the Astros if the Rangers trade within the division? Mariners rotation is already deep enough as is and don't need any SPs.

I suggested deGrom as a potential trade candidate last week. Rangers would be smart to move him and shed that salary. $37M AAV each season though and his injury history could be a concern. Otherwise, would be fun to watch him at the top of the rotation and pitching in the Postseason. Another obstacle: deGrom has a full no-trade clause, so not sure if he would want to pitch in Toronto.

Ideally an ace would be a huge help, however the limited options available and acquisition cost might not be viable. Sure, you might be able to acquire a reclamation project like Sandy Alcantara or Zac Gallen, though there is no guarantee the ship could be righted with them in such a short time window. Would target high leverage relievers instead if the Jays can't acquire a top of the rotation arm.

I would boot Green, no questions asked. Sandlin has options as well. Also, a lot could still happen over these next couple of weeks in terms of injuries/IL stints. Always better to have more reinforcements/options than being left scrambling down the stretch. If the Jays don't add an elite/top-of-the-rotation starter, I think they need to add another high leverage arm or two since they're going to be riding their BP hard in a Postseason series, especially if they only allow their starters go 4 to 5 innings.

Taylor Ward would be a nice RH bat and the Angels likely would move him. This season: 20 HR's, 59 RBI, 115 wRC+ and 1.8 fWAR so far in 87 games. Defensively he's not a huge liability in LF and you could always sub in a better defensive outfielder later in games.

I was thinking of Bryan Reynolds the other day as a potential trade candidate, though like Brownie mentioned that contract is the deterrent. Plus not sure he ever returns to being a 5-6 WAR player like he was 2021. His numbers have been regressing each and every season and is going to be on the wrong side of 30.

Trade Deadline Rotation Arms Top of the Rotation arms: Chris Sale (if made available and healthy) Brandon Woodruff Freddy Peralta Top of the Rotation arm reclamation projects: Sandy Alcantara Walker Buehler Zac Gallen Middle of the Rotation arms: Seth Lugo Merrill Kelly Luis Severino Zach Eflin Nick Martinez Andrew Heaney Tyler Anderson Edward Cabrera (only 27 and has club control)

Keep the streak going! White Sox have been playing a bit better as of late lol, but regardless got to take advantage of these series against the White Sox and A's before the All-Star Break to pad up the division lead!

Yeah I suggested this trade idea a couple of days ago. Definitely a challenge type of deal. Brewers get a huge upgrade over Joey Ortiz at SS and don't really lose a beat in regards to their starting rotation. Jays get a top of the rotation arm in Woodruff and have enough infield depth to cover the loss of Bo at shortstop with Clement who can step into the role. Just got to hope Gimenez isn't out for too long at second. I'm okay with a Barger - Clement - Gimenez - Vladdy infield. Jays would actually improve defensively and as much as I love Bo's offensive potential, he isn't really tearing the cover off the ball this season: 105 wRC+ and a .270/.310/.427 slash line with 12 HR's and 51 RBI. If Bo has made it clear to the FO that he won't re-sign an extension with the Jays, makes this type of deal actually easier.

Yeah I think it was just gamesmanship, as well as making it appear to the players on the main roster that he wasn't conceding on the season at the moment given that it was the middle of June and since they just got Acuna and Strider back healthy. Looks bad and destroys player morale. Things have changed since during that short time span. Both Sale and Schwellenbach landed on the IL-60 and the Braves sit at 39-50 and 13.5 GB after getting swept by the Orioles at home. Would make sense for the Braves to trade Sale and get something of value. He would actually be the only legit ace available on the trade market. Only worry is the injury, but at least it's not his arm.

Yeah if Milwaukee moves any of their arms, its likely Woodruff given that he could be a FA at the end of this season. I would imagine Milwaukee would want players or arms that could help them this season given their record. Unless the Brewers fall out of the race by the deadline.

In other Yankees news: The Yankees have signed infielder Jeimer Candelario to a minor league deal, as announced by the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (h/t to Conor Foley of YES Network). Yancen Pujols reports that Candelario is expected to report to Triple-A on Monday and that Candelario had multiple offers before he settled on the Yankees. Panic in the Bronx!

Right-hander Clarke Schmidt has a tear in his UCL and will probably undergo Tommy John surgery, Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters (including Joel Sherman of the New York Post). Schmidt will miss the remainder of the 2025 season and will miss perhaps all of the 2026 season, given the usual 13-15 month recovery timeline for TJ procedures. Tough loss for the Yankees rotation since Schmidt had been one of their better starters. Looks like things are coming off the rails quickly.

Yeah agreed. Would welcome Suarez's bat, but with DH already being a logjam if they cycle Springer & Santander, you pretty much are relying on Suarez playing 3B majority of the time. Defensively, Jays infield takes a huge step back and he pretty much clogs up the base paths when on base. I'm not putting all my eggs in one basket in regards to Santander. If there is an opportunity to add another power hitting OF, would look into it. Can't rely or expect that Santander is going to come back as his old self for the final two months of the season. If the Jays could somehow extract some extra power out of Vladdy, Kirk and Bo down the stretch, that definitely would go a long way!

Yeah exactly. That's why I would rather add one or two high leverage relievers to the pen, which would definitely help in a short Postseason series. As well, would target an arm that could start and/or pitch out of the pen (for example Michael Soroka would be a perfect fit). In case Lauer crashes or Scherzer goes down to injury, Soroka could step right into the rotation and be viable. If not, you have a potential elite multiple inning reliever which would be a nice weapon out of the pen!

Yeah I don't see them moving Peralta given their position in the standings. He still has one more year of control anyways and they could trade him during the offseason, which they most likely will as we saw what they did with Burnes, Devin Williams etc.

No more "chicks dig the long ball." John Schneider is going to change that phrase to "chicks dig the bunt."