Blue Jays Morning Brew: Trade deadline on the horizon

The Blue Jays are back in action this afternoon at 1:07 as R.A. Dickey takes on Hisashi Iwakuma

James Paxton and the Seattle Mariners kept the Blue Jays’ bats at bay on Friday night, winning the series opener 2-1.

Toronto and Seattle will play two matinees this weekend, and with the Blue Jays playing at home up to July 31st, the trade deadline buzz will only grow louder at home.

Blue Jays trade market update:
On Friday, Jon Morosi tweeted that the Blue Jays “will be fascinating to follow over next week; they are in both the rotation and bullpen markets, talking with multiple clubs.” So much of their deadline strategy continues to hinge on the plan with Aaron Sanchez, which still may not be known.

Podcast: trade deadline talk
If you missed this week’s episode of The Jays Nest Podcast, Shaun Doyle of Jays From the Couch and I give our thoughts on what the Justin Smoak extension means and discuss the upcoming deadline at length. Listen to the latest show and subscribe below:

The Jays’ Nest Podcast- Talking Toronto Blue Jays – Jays Nest #83- Blue Jays’ Smoak and Deadline Fire!

Subscribe for iOS / iTunes     –     Subscribe for Android

Bo, getting to know:
Bo Schultz may still be the closest Blue Jays reliever to a triple-A option, but after flashing his talent in 2015, the late-blooming right-hander believes that his experience is finally catching up to his electric arm.

“There’s something to be said about power-pitching with experience,” Schultz told Richard Griffin of The Star. “Me, with what I had last year, I may have a big arm and I may have the potential to be something big, but I didn’t have the experience to be one of those guys last year.”

Financial reports:
Andrew Stoeten offers up his analysis of the Rogers’ 2nd Quarter financial report for Blue Jays Nation, and for those of you (I see you, 99.5%) who don’t quite understand the relationship between business and baseball when it comes to Rogers, this should help.

Colabello won’t apologize
Chris Colabello‘s continuing search for answers regarding his 80-game suspension remains a fascinating story. Time after time in recent MLB history, players have refused to admit guilt following positive tests for performance enhancing drugs. Colabello is really holding the line, however, as he told Brendan Kennedy of The Star.

“I have nothing to say sorry for,” Colabello said. “At the end of the day, the unfortunate thing is I’m the only person that knows that.”

The sustainability of Estrada
Marco Estrada‘s success laughs in the face of logic and metrics at times, so Matt W at Blue Bird Banter takes a look at how sustainable Estrada’s suppression of hard contact really is.

Star Wars Night:
Saturday is the annual Star Wars Night in Buffalo for the triple-A Bisons, and Amy Moritz has all you need to know about one of the best nights in minor league baseball here for The Buffalo News. Be sure to follow Amy on Twitter for great daily coverage of the Bisons.