Blue Jays & MLB Trade Deadline: 5 Things that NEED to Happen

Get a Starter!

This seems obvious. Currently, the Blue Jays sit 23rd in all of baseball with a 4.07 ERA. Part of that has to do with the bullpen, which we’ll get to a bit later, but it is not pretty. According to BaseballReference.com, the starters are responsible for an ERA of 4.38 and a WHIP of 1.354. It’s bad. Those of us who have been watching starts like most of Drew Hutchison‘s road outings or Matt Boyd‘s 2nd start have been screaming for pitching help. 

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Perhaps, Alex Anthopoulos is very much all in and he is not done shopping in the coming days. Today’s announced trade certainly indicates an “all in” approach, but still doesn’t actually bring in a pitcher that they need.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. The Blue Jays entered Spring Training with optimism around a rotation that featured, Marcus Stroman, Drew Hutchison, R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle and Daniel Norris. But, what is it they say about the best laid plans? It fell apart as quickly as an ACL can tear. Stroman’s absence called into question the depth this team had. Then, Daniel Norris struggled after dealing with ‘dead arm’. Aaron Sanchez was added to the rotation after some wavering back and forth with the bullpen (again, more on that in a bit). In fact, none of the exciting youth has been reliable this season.

Instead, the Blue Jays have been relying on Buehrle’s consistency and Dickey’s unreliable knuckleball. Something needs to be injected into this rotation if this team is going to compete this year. This club cannot compete while relying on the above veterans and a collection of makeshift starters like Felix Doubront. No, they need an impactful improvement. Fast.

What happens if they actually do make a run at a Wild Card spot? There is not a Blue Jays fan around who would be comfortable starting a one game playoff with any members of the current rotation. This club needs a better starter.

Next: Is a Starter Enough to Help Blue Jays?