Report: Blue Jays Have Floated Colby Rasmus In Trade Offers

Well, here is one that is certain to perk up a few ears on this slow, dreary, and late Tuesday night. According to Bob Elliot at the Toronto Sun, the Toronto Blue Jays have dangled Colby Rasmus out in trade offers to at least two teams in exchange for starting pitching.

Wait, what?

Now, to be fair, Elliot goes into absolutely no details as to who the teams involved were rumored to be, or even further mentioning it in the entire article, only mentioning it as such.

"Colby Rasmus is on the market and has been offered to two teams by the Blue Jays for starting pitching.And in the other news:"

Well, thanks for the insight Bob!

Seriously though, Rasmus could be an attractive trade piece for some team looking to upgrade its center field situation. The 27-year-old outfielder posted a solid 4.8 wins above replacement for the Blue Jays in 2013, notching 22 home runs, 66 RBI, and a wRC+ of 130. However, he is a free agent after next season and given the long-term deals being signed by the like of Jacoby Ellsbury and soon Shin-Soo Choo, the Blue Jays may feel their chances of working out a reasonable extension are slim.

Then again, the team has no viable candidate to fill in for him, unless you believe Anthony Gose suddenly figured things out overnight. Or perhaps they are in on Matt Kemp still?

I don’t know, it all seems pretty vague and convoluted to me, so I don’t think we should make much out of it right now. But in the long-term plan, with little movable pieces outside of pillaging the farm system again, would you rather move Rasmus or dig into Jose Bautista or Edwin Encarnacion for value?