The trades that built the Blue Jays roster: Where are they now?

December 3rd, 2014

Not long after the Donaldson deal, general manager Alex Anthopoulos brought Michael Saunders back to his home country in a straight-up deal for J.A. Happ, his current teammate.

After a pair of injury-shortened seasons with the Blue Jays, Happ threw 158.0 innings for Toronto in 2014 with a 4.22 ERA. At the time, Saunders was trending in a slightly different direction health-wise. After two relatively full seasons in 2012-13, he appeared in just 75 games in 2014. He did, however, compile a WAR of 2.0 in that short time.

Both players took the long road through 2015 – Happ struggling in Seattle before resuscitating his career in Pittsburgh with Saunders missing nearly the entire season – but they’ve now reunited as allies.

This isn’t a deal to declare a winner or loser in, but without this move to set a specific chain of events into action (for better and for worse), perhaps the Blue Jays rotation and outfield both look different in 2016.

July 28th, 2015

The Blue Jays jumped the deadline by a few days last season, making a completely unexpected change at shortstop by bringing in perennial All-Star Troy Tulowitzki. The news broke in the middle of the night after Anthopoulos had chased Tulowitzki since the offseason prior.

Tulowitzki is just now rounding into his true form with the Blue Jays after a pair of injuries in 2015 and earlier this year. He’s raised his 2016 OPS to .793 with 15 home runs, and when his excellent defence is considered, the Blue Jays are beginning to experience the fullest value of Tulowitzki.

LaTroy Hawkins was a savvy throw-in piece, as well, giving the Blue Jays a veteran bullpen presence and some quality pitching down the stretch.

Jose Reyes was the highest-profile name going the other direction. He has since been suspended by Major League Baseball for domestic violence, released by the Rockies, and recently made his re-debut with the New York Mets where he, against any logic or reason, received cheers. Further recommended reading on Reyes can be found here at Vice Sports by Stacey May Fowles.

Jeff Hoffman’s prospect appeal has continued to shine for Colorado despite some struggles. He was ranked the number 68 prospect by Baseball America and number 52 by MLB.com entering the season, and is generally considered a top three-to-four prospect in their organization. In 17 starts with triple-A Albuquerque this season he’s posted a 4.03 ERA with 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings. Given the Rockies’ rotation difficulties, he could earn his MLB debut sooner than later.

Miguel Castro, the flame-throwing 21-year-old, has bounced between triple-A, MLB, and injuries in 2016. He’s 6.14 ERA in 19 appearances out of the Rockies bullpen, but given his age, plenty of time remains for his development. Jesus Tinoco is currently playing for Advanced-A Modesto and ranked as the organization’s number 15 prospect by MLB Pipeline. He’s put up a 7.30 ERA between two levels this season.

Hoffman’s ceiling as starter may tilt the needle in this one, but if Tulowitzki continues his recent trends, the Blue Jays got what they wanted for a price that shouldn’t be crippling long-term.

Next: The big day: Blue Jays land Price

July 30th, 2015

David Price was the type of deadline target that was supposed to be too big a name for the Toronto Blue Jays. Even so soon after the Tulowitzki addition, though, landing one of baseball’s best starting pitchers still sounded too good to be true.

Now that the emotions of this past offseason have settled, it’s easy to see that the Blue Jays got what they wanted in Price: one all-or-nothing shot at the World Series with a bonafide ace atop their rotation. Beyond that? Let the chips fall as they may.

Those chips fell with price landing within the division, unfortunately, where he’s now finding his old self with his ERA dropping to 4.64 through 18 starts. In his time with Toronto he gave the Blue Jays 11 starts and a 2.30 ERA, but his playoff outings didn’t go as smoothly.

Daniel Norris has overcome a great deal since the trade. He announced after the season that a cancerous growth had been discovered on his thyroid, one that has since been surgically removed.

After looking promising in eight starts down the stretch for Detroit in 2015 (3.68 ERA), Norris is still waiting for it to click this season. The MLB-level competition hasn’t gone well, and he still holds a 4.68 ERA in 11 triple-A starts. He was recently placed on the disabled list with an oblique strain.

The 25-year-old Boyd had been roughed up over 29.1 MLB innings this season (6.44 ERA). Triple-A Toledo has been an entirely different story, however, where he’s cruised to a 2.25 ERA over 11 starts. Making that jump from upper-minors success to the major league level continues to be Boyd’s challenge.

Left-hander Jairo Labourt is currently pitching with Advanced-A Lakeland, where his ERA sits up at 6.87 over 12 starts and five relief appearances. MLB Pipeline lists him as Detroit’s number 10 prospect

Norris may still need several seasons to reach his full potential, though if he does, that ceiling remains immense.

Last but not least, we look at some smaller deals and their value:

Next: The extras: 5 minor deals since the Price blockbuster

Beyond the big splashes of last year’s trade deadline there have also been some smaller-scale moves. These are important for context of the upcoming deadline, as minor moves could be exactly what the Blue Jays use to tinker their roster.

Julu 31st, 2015

The Lowe deal constitutes a classic bullpen addition around the deadline. He didn’t exactly keep up his Mariners pace, giving the Blue Jays an ERA of 3.79 over 19 regular season innings, but he filled in well enough where needed. The Blue Jays were wise not to re-sign the right-hander, who holds a 10.33 ERA over 27 innings for the Tigers this season in year one of a two-year, $11 million deal.

Rasmussen retired from baseball prior to this season season to pursue his MBA. Brentz is still far off, primarily pitching in the Northwest League this season. Wells has made 13 starts for single-A Brenton with a 5.74 ERA. Wells and Brentz are ranked as Seattle’s 20th and 24th prospects, respectively.

July 31st, 2015

The addition of Revere gave the Blue Jays their everyday leadoff hitter, and he responded with a valuable .354 on-base percentage in his time with the Blue Jays. Cordero, 24, is still in the Gulf Coast League and ranked as the Phillies number 17 prospect. Tirado, 21, has appeared in 13 games between two levels with an ERA of 8.38.

A Revere-like deal (speaking in terms of position and scale) is not entirely off the table if Jose Bautista‘s turf toe injury continues to linger. This type of move becomes affordable in terms of prospect capital if the Blue Jays have an appetite for taking on salary.

November 20th, 2015

Liam Hendriks was one of the great stories of 2015. Originally viewed as a depth starter with average tools, his velocity spiked last season and made him a key member of the Blue Jays bullpen. This season hasn’t been so kind to the Aussie, as he’s dealt with an injury and stumbled to a 6.15 ERA over 26.1 MLB innings.

Chavez has been a welcome addition to the Blue Jays bullpen, and while not dominant, he’s maintained his velocity and holds value in his ability to pitch multiple innings when called upon. The Blue Jays also took on a larger financial commitment in this deal, a decision that has worked out well.

May 31st, 2016

The structure of this deal offers another blueprint for what the Blue Jays could explore at the upcoming deadline. Grilli had pitched to a 5.91 ERA in Atlanta, and with the Braves willing to eat a large chunk of his salary to get the rest off their books, Toronto picked up the veteran at a relative discount. Since coming to Canada, he’s struck out 21 batters in 11.2 innings.

Ratcliffe, on the other hand, made two appearances in the low-minors for the Braves before being released in late June