AA’s Trade Deadlines Have Been Successful

Jul 13, 2013; Baltimore, MD, USA; Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Steve Delabar (50) pitches in the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Blue Jays defeated the Orioles 7-3. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY SportsWith the Toronto Blue Jays in 5th place and below 500 for the 7th straight All Star break the pedestal and shine Jays fans had for Alex Anthopoulos has worn off.

Most Blue Jays fans would say no matter what happened in 2013 they would still love AA.

But that was back when we assumed no matter what was a guaranteed September playoff race and finishing above 500.

It doesn’t help that the Orioles GM Dan Duquette made the playoffs in his first season and Red Sox GM Ben Cherington has the most wins in the majors at the all-star break this season in just his 2nd season.

So maybe just maybe AA is overrated.

But even if that’s the case there’s reason to be excited as a Jays fan that the trade deadline is 2 weeks away because all of AA’s trade deadline moves have been a success.

In 2010 the Jays acquired Yunel Escobar. In 2011 he had a 369 on base percentage while putting up a 3.7 WAR. He wasn’t as good in 2012 and of course the eye black incident.

But the super team friendly contract extension he signed with the Jays made him attractive to the Marlins and the Jays were able to replace him with Jose freaking Reyes.

So the Jays got 1 great year from Escobar, 1 decent year from Escobar and then turned him into a superstar shortstop that makes life as a Jays fan worth living.

The Jays also traded for Anthony Gose in July 2010 but I’m not going to talk about that because it goes against the title of this post at the moment.

In 2011 the Jays acquired Colby Rasmus. This trade definitely did not have instant results. Rasmus didn’t produce the rest of the 2011 season or 2012 as he put up on base percentages below 300 and didn’t even put up a WAR of 2 between the 2 seasons.

But in 2013 Rasmus has been the star the Jays thought they were getting baby. He’s got a 332 on base percentage with 16 homeruns and he’s already put up a 3.5 WAR! All his offensive numbers rank at or near the top for center fielders.

You can bet your rare end that whatever the Jays do at this trade deadline the fan base doesn’t want to have to wait 2 years to see results. But at the same time even a struggling Colby has always been a very fun player to watch and he was more than worth the wait.

Last season the Jays picked up J.A. Happ, Brad Lincoln and Steve Delabar

Happ is a serviceable 5th starter or possible bullpen piece the Jays have through at least the 2015 season. If you’ve been watching the Jays since the middle of the 2012 season you know you can never have enough pitching.

Everyone’s last memory of Lincoln is him throwing 4 shutout innings of relief against the Rangers before being optioned to the minors. No one seems to remember he kind of sucked before that appearance and made you sweat with a 5 run lead. It’s hard to really form an opinion on Lincoln yet but like said a few sentences ago you can never have enough pitching depth.

Delabar is an All Star as a middle reliever for a last place team. Enough said.

Here is to hoping AA’s trade deadline success continues this season!