Matthew Lenz

While we are still about a month and a half away from the trade deadline, it's starting to get late early for some teams across Major League Baseball. With the trade deadline set for July 31, we are roughly a month away from the hot stove reaching its inferno. However, there are a handful of teams that we can pretty confidently say are going to be sellers around the deadline. Who are they, what do they have to offer, and how could the Toronto Blue Jays benefit? Let's dive in. Chicago White Sox The White Sox are 12 games below .500 and 13 games out of the playoff spot. They acknowledged a multi-year rebuild over the off-season, so it shouldn't be surprising that they are sellers once again. Potential rentals include outfielders Michael A. Taylor and Austin Slater as well as recently acquired starter Aaron Civale. Otherwise, intriguing players who are controlled beyond 2025 include infielder Josh Rojas and outfielder Mike Tauchman. However, it’s more realistic that teams aggressively kick the tires on outfielder Luis Robert Jr., who has been the subject of trade speculation for a while now. Robert Jr. signed a pre-arbitration extension that included $20 million in team options for 2026 and 2027, which can be bought out for $2 million. Once a top prospect in baseball, the 28-year-old has had a hard time staying healthy throughout his career and has struggled at the plate over the last two seasons. Athletics The Athletics are in a free fall ever since they started their season 22-20. In their last 28 games they have just four wins. While they are a young team with some exciting talent, they're obviously not ready yet and have a handful of rentals that teams could kick the tires on. Most notably are utility players Miguel Andujar and Luis Urias who have both produced above average at the plate this season. Third baseman Gio Urshela is more than two years removed from his last productive season and has a mediocre glove at the hot corner, but could be an intriguing option to handle the short side of a platoon. On the mound, Jose Leclerc and T.J. McFarland are two potential reliever rentals, though Leclerc has been sidelined with a lat strain since April and McFarland has been plain bad. It seems likely that at least one of Andujar, Urias, or Urshela are traded ahead of the deadline. Baltimore Orioles Injuries aside, it's still pretty shocking to see the Orioles struggling this much. After winning 91 games and earning a playoff berth in 2024, they are currently 13 games below .500 and 8.5 games out of a playoff spot. The difference here is that the Orioles are not in the midst of a rebuild, so it's likely they limit their moves to players on expiring deals. Those names include: pitchers Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano, and Gregory Soto as well as outfielder Cedric Mullins. Of those players, Eflin, Sugano, and Soro are having successful seasons on the mound and will draw significant trade interest. However, two names that have been the subject of trade rumors but are controllable beyond 2025 are first baseman Ryan Mountcastle and outfielder Heston Kjerstad. Mountcastle, who will miss the next 8-12 weeks with a hamstring strain, is having a down year with a .628 OPS and two home runs. Kjerstad, who was recently optioned to Triple-A Norfolk, has also struggled this season but has often found himself as the odd man out of a stacked group of young talent. Blue Jays Needs The Blue Jays are in the thick of it in both the AL East and Wild Card. While they have one of the best bullpens in the league, they need help in the rotation. After losing Max Scherzer a month into the season, the Blue Jays rotation ranks in the bottom third of the league in many categories. While Trey Yesavage may be ready for an opportunity late in 2025, the Blue Jays don't have much coming in reinforcements behind the return of Scherzer. Yes, they have needs on the offensive side of the ball but they need to prioritize bolstering their rotation. Speaking of the offensive side, they are solid overall ranking eighth in the big-leagues in OPS. They would benefit from upgrading their outfield and second base. The Orioles could be a one stop shop for the Blue Jays, but it's hard to see them trade within the division. It seems they could be competing for some of the same arms their division foe, Boston Red Sox, will be pursuing. What would you prioritize if you were in the Blue Jays front office? Join the conversation in the comments! View full article

Earlier this week, the Milwaukee Brewers moved starter Aaron Civale to the bullpen in favor of top prospect Jacob Misiorowski. The move has prompted the 30-year-old right hander to request a trade from the Brewers in hopes of remaining a starter with another team, according to Ken, Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic. In five starts his season, Civale has a 4.29 ERA (4.30 FIP) and a mediocre 15.2% strikeout minus walk rate. He's been particularly susceptible to the long ball this season as he's given up five home runs across 22 innings pitched. Civale is making $8 million this season, which will be prorated based on his service time this season, and will be entering free agency at seasons end. He'd be a plenty serviceable arm for a Toronto Blue Jays rotation that has dealt with injuries this year, most notably to Max Scherzer. For more information on Civale, check out this articles related to the news on our sister site, Brewer Fanatic. Do you think the Blue Jays should kick the tires on Civale? Join the conversation in the comments! View full rumor

Baseball America has released their latest version of the Top 100 prospects in all of baseball. While the Toronto Blue Jays didn't have any players added to the list, they did have three players improve upon their previous rankings. Trey Yesavage jumped from #98 to #89, Ricky Tiedemann from #95 to #92, and Arjun Nimmala from #58 to #41. It's not noted how many prospects graduated from the May version of the rankings. Yesavage has dominated Hi-A Vancouver in 10 starts posting a 2.17 ERA and a 34.4 K-BB rate. Nimmala is at the same level and experiencing similar success with a .902 OPS with nine home runs and five stolen bases. Tiedmann is recovering from Tommy John surgery and is expected to come back sometime in 2025. When do you think Yesavage and/or Nimmala will be promoted to Double-A New Hampshire? Join the conversation in the comments! View full rumor

After the Toronto Blue Jays formalized their extension with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. earlier this week, it became unclear whether the team would be able to do the same with Bo Bichette. The 27-year-old shortstop is currently set to hit free agency at season's end and, despite an injury plagued 2024 that sapped his power, is expected to be one of the top commodities of the upcoming free agent class. On Wednesday, the Blue Jays General Manager provided some clarity via Hazel Mae of Sportsnet. This was something that was echoed by Bichette himself last season stating in part, "...my ultimate goal really is to play with Vladdy (Guerrero Jr.) forever, to win a championship with him and to do that with this organization..." Bichette has been one of the pillars for thr Blue Jays since playing in 159 games in 2021 after partial seasons in 2019 and 2020. He has a career .776 OPS with 93 home runs, 56 stolen bases, and plus defense at one the game's most premium positions. His success and popularity has garnered him two All-Star nods as well as MVP votes in three seasons. Do you think the Blue Jays should lock up Bichette ASAP or let him test free agency at season's end? View full rumor

MLB Insider and Broadcaster Mike Rodriguez is reporting that the Toronto Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr are "very close to finalizing a $500-million plus extension". It's been a roller coaster of an offseason for the Jays and their star corner infielder, but it looks like the ride is about to come to an end in the form of an extension. In his first seven games of the season, the slugger is slashing .222/.290/.333 with no home runs, three runs scored, and three runs batted in. View full rumor

Alden González of ESPN is reporting that Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s asking price was "much less" than the asking price of Juan Soto who netted a $765 million deal from the New York Mets earlier this offseason. This news comes two weeks after the deadline that Vlad Jr.'s camp established came and went without a deal. The 26-year-old now anticipates that he will reach free agency next year, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. The most recent report adds that the ask was for the same number of years as Soto's contract (14) but that the total salary didn't reach $600 million. Despite a very good bounce back campaign in 2024 that saw the slugger carry a .940 OPS with 30 home runs and 103 RBI's across 159 games, the Blue Jays may be smart to stand their ground. Not because Vlad's 2024 production is sustainable or repeatable, but because of Pete Alonso's 2024 free agent experience. The market for Alonso never really got "hot" relative to his level of production, which led to the masher going back to the Mets on a two-year, $54 million deal. Of course, he's four years older than Vlad Jr., but it still holds to reason that he Blue Jays might be better off seeing how his market plays out next offseason. Do you think Vlad's ask is too much or should the Blue Jays have signed him? View full rumor

We have more developments this morning related to the Toronto Blue Jays offseason. Yesterday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today said that the Jays are "still interested" in Pete Alonso. Now, Héctor Gómez is reporting that they have a three-year offer out to him and a six-year offer out to Alex Bregman. The fit would be interesting if both players were to accept. Adding Alonso would push Vladimir Guerrero Jr over to the hot corner. Alex Bregman has stated that he is open to playing second base, but the Jays have newly acquired Andrés Giménez at the Keystone. As of now, Will Wagner is penciled in as the teams designed hitter, but he projects to be more of a bench bat than a full-time player. If Alonso and Bregman were to accept their respective deals, they could theoretically play a game of musical chairs at DH. While it would be interesting to see how that works out, it's a no brainer to add both if the Jays can pull that off. View full rumor

After the Toronto Blue Jays made a bit of a splash yesterday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today was quick to report that they are still interested in firsts baseman slugger Pete Alonso. Rumors from a week ago suggested that talks between the two parties were "advancing", but since then we haven't heard much of anything on how the talks were progressing. In fact, Nightengale more recently said Alonso returning to the New York Mets "seems almost inevitable." From an earlier rumor we posted: Alonso is open to a short-term deal as long as it includes opt outs and exceeds $23 million per year. How far north of $23 million Alonso and company want has not been made clear to this point, but MLB Trade Rumors suggest that the front loaded $80 million that Cody Bellinger received is the low bar to obtain Alonso's services. View full rumor

Pat Ragazzo of Sports Illustrated recently reported that Max Scherzer threw in front of many teams, including the Toronto Blue Jays, both teams out of New York City, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, and Boston Red Sox. Notably, of that entire group, the Blue Jays are the only team mentioned to be "in contact" with the future Hall of Famer. Scherzer, who is now 40-years-old, threw less than 60 innings at the Triple-A and Major League levels in 2024. Although he fared fairly well in nine starts with the Rangers, it was spread across three different timeframes. He didn't debut until June 23rd due to an offseason surgery to fix a herniated disc in his back, then made his way back to the IL after eight starts due to right shoulder fatigue before being put back on the IL after just one start due to a left hamstring strain. After missing out on Roku Sasaki, the Blue Jays are still trying to bolster their rotation and Scherzer represents a good buy-low option despite a rough 2024. Do you think the Jays should take a chance on the three time Cy Young Award winner? View full rumor

It was reported earlier that the Blue Jays were interested in acquiring Astros' reliever Ryan Pressly ($$). Now it's being reported that Pressly, who has a no-trade clause, will not waive for a team on either coast. This effectively eliminates the Blue Jays from acquiring two-time All Star. This news comes roughly a week after losing out on the Tanner Scott sweepstakes and, as of right now, the team hasn't been tied to any other reliever via trade or on the open market. From the perspective of the bullpen, this has been a disappointing offseason for the Jays who had arguably the worst relief corpse in baseball a year ago. While it's encouraging to hear them getting involved in high end relievers, it means very little if they can't close the deal. Who should they target next whether it be via free agency or trade? View full rumor

Andy Martino of SNY is reporting that talks between the Blue Jays and Pete Alonso are "advancing", but further states that a deal is "not done yet" and that there is "no guarantee" one will get done. Alonso, a 30-year-old four-time All-Star, is the top name remaining on the market but hasn't been tied to many teams. In fact, other than the Blue Jays, the New York Mets are the only other team to have been tied to the 1st base slugger. The Mets were said to offer a three-year contract in the $68-70 million range with opt-outs, per Joel Sherman and Dan Martin of The New York Post, which was then declined by Alonso's camp unofficially marking the end of his time in Queens. Around that same time, Will Sammon of The Athletic ($$) said that Alonso and his representatives at the Boras Corporation pitched a similar deal to the Mets but with higher annual salaries. So if we start putting together multiple reports, it appears that Alonso is open to a short-term deal as long as it includes opt outs and exceeds $23 million per year. How far north of $23 million Alonso and company want has not been made clear to this point, but MLB Trade Rumors suggest that the front loaded $80 million that Cody Bellinger received is the low bar to obtain Alonso's services. Across six big-league seasons, the righty has proven to be a modern day iron horse having exceeded 152 games played five times and has a 162 game average of 43 home runs and 112 runs batted in. Given his reliability and skillset, how much are you willing to fork over for Alonso? View full rumor