Blue Jays: The American League teams most likely to come calling in trade talks

With several expiring contracts and already seemingly out of the playoff race, the Blue Jays will be a popular team to call among contenders at this year’s deadline.

Here I was feeling a little bad over the last couple days because I’ve been talking about the Blue Jays as trade sellers already. It’s not supposed to be that way already in the middle of June, but with the Blue Jays already 13 games out of the second Wild Card spot, and that team on pace for 102 wins, the odds are stacked very steeply against them. From having a look around the internet over the last couple of days, I’m clearly not the only baseball writer thinking this way, so I guess I’ll stop feeling bad about it.

With that in mind, I thought I would take a look at which teams could be targeting the Blue Jays at this year’s trade deadline, especially when it comes to their top expiring contracts like those that belong to J.A. Happ and Josh Donaldson. There are others like Curtis Granderson, Marco Estrada, Steve Pearce, Tyler Clippard and more, so there are no shortage of candidates to leave the organization in the next six or so weeks.

Donaldon’s bat will have appeal, and it’s possible that both Granderson and Pearce could serve as a cheap upgrade for someone, but it’s the pitching staff that will draw the most attention. Assuming he keeps on the way he has since coming back to the Blue Jays, Happ could be the best available starter on the market, and guys like Estrada and Clippard could be useful for the right team as well. If the Jays decide to start trading players beyond just the expiring contracts, then things take on a whole other level of interesting.

The real question is, who could be interested in the Blue Jays veterans, and what might they send back in return? I’m not gonna speculate on what the Blue Jays will receive in those trades, not just yet, but I’ll take a stab at which times could be picking up the phone to call Mark Shapiro and Ross Atkins this summer. In today’s piece, I’ll have a look at the American League teams that could be calling, and tomorrow I’ll have a peak at the National League contenders.

L.A. Angels

At the top of my list are the L.A. Angels, who have a dynamic offence and enough talent around their 25 man roster to be a serious contender for the playoffs. They were dealt a massive blow recently though when Shohei Ohtani hit the disabled list, and rumours started to spread that he’ll need Tommy John surgery. That has not been confirmed by the Angels at this time, but don’t expect the two-way phenom to return any time soon, if at all this season.

The Angels had been mostly employing a six man rotation with the presence of Ohtani, so losing him shouldn’t be the end of the world in terms of bodies. However, replacing that production isn’t something that just comes with the next man up, and that’s why I could see them as a fit with Toronto in trade talks.

Realistically, their target should be Happ, and I’d be surprised if they weren’t at least keeping an eye on him at this point. The Angels are 7.5 games out of both the AL West and the 2nd Wild Card spot, so they’ll have some work to do in order to catch up and become truly relevant. There is enough time though, and with Mike Trout’s tenure as an Angel being wasted more each year, the front office may decide to give it a real shot this season and show their superstar they’re willing to build around him.

If they do, they can make up some ground on the Mariners or Astros before the middle of July, I would expect them to be very active at the deadline. They could arguably use some depth in the outfield, and also in the bullpen as well, so their interests could go beyond Happ in trade talks. If they wanted to get really crazy, they could always look at bringing in Josh Donaldson as an upgrade to their infield picture as well, but that might be a bit of a squeeze, and he might have to play first base when Andrelton Simmons returns and Zack Cozart goes back to third base.

The key for Mike Scoscia’s team will be whether or not they’re close enough to the hunt to justify becoming a buyer. My guess is they’ll be close enough to take a shot, as I don’t expect the Mariners to keep this up forever, even if they’re playing really good baseball right now.

Cleveland Indians

I think it’s entirely possible that Mark Shapiro and the Cleveland Indians connection come back one more time during this year’s trade deadline season. Once again Cleveland is at the top of the AL Central, despite having a much more difficult season. They have the good fortune of playing in the American League’s weakest division this season, and it looks like they’ll take full advantage of it.

They have a strong starting rotation, which is one of the reasons why they’ve had some success this year obviously. The group that includes Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer, and Mike Clevinger is a solid playoff rotation, and they’re still hopeful that they’ll get Danny Salazar back at some point this year. They could look to add someone like Estrada or Happ to help give them a push down the deadline, but that would likely take an injury, and/or a real push from someone else in the division, which likely isn’t happening.

My guess is that Cleveland could be more interested in an offensive upgrade, especially with the middling season from Yondor Alonso at first base so far. It’s possible they ask about someone like Donaldson for the sake of trying, and who knows, for a playoff push he might play first base for a true contender before becoming a free agent. I wouldn’t bank on it, but the market of teams looking to pay a whole lot for him might not be that big consider the lack of real contenders this season, especially compared to 2017.

More likely I could see Cleveland asking about an outfielder, which is where someone like Granderson or Pearce could be an interesting option, and likely not that expensive. Pearce would have extra value with the ability to play first, but he’ll have to get healthy enough to show he can still be an asset before anyone is going to be interested in trading for him. I could also see their front office asking about someone like Kevin Pillar and gauging the Blue Jays’ interest in moving him. Not saying that it’s even remotely likely, but if they could use a true upgrade in the outfield, it would be in the centre.

I don’t see Cleveland as anywhere near as likely to be a trade partner as the Mariners or Angels, but anything can happen.

Yankees and Red Sox

Let me start by saying I don’t see this as a likelihood, at all. That said, I think it’s something to be explored from both sides, and the Yankees in particular make a lot of sense for the Blue Jays as trade partners, if not for that whole being in the same division thing.

For the Yankees the need is similar to most teams in baseball, as they could use an upgrade to their starting rotation. They have Luis Severino, but beyond that there are a lot of question marks. Masahiro Tanaka can be an asset most of the time, but he’s currently sporting a 4.58 ERA despite being 7-2. He’s also dealing with two strained hamstrings at the moment from running the bases, but that should heal soon enough.

The bigger problem is Jordan Montgomery has been lost for the year to Tommy John surgery, and Sonny Gray is struggling again. C.C. Sabathia has been good this season, but it’s hard to say how much he can be counted on as the season wears on. They could really use another starting pitcher, and maybe even two. The Blue Jays could definitely provide that with Happ, and even Estrada could have some value to them in the right situation.

There really isn’t a great fit for the Red Sox and Blue Jays to connect in a trade, unless the Red Sox decided to swing for the fences and bring in Donaldson. I don’t expect that to happen, especially because they’d be sending young assets to a team with a strong minor league system already, and that’s not a great recipe for their future.

I wouldn’t rule out the two teams as a possible fit, but as always I wouldn’t expect anything to materialize between the division rivals.

Houston Astros

Last but not least, the Houston Astros are the only other team I could see as buyers, at least at this point. They have a strong roster once again, and will be battling the Seattle Mariners for the division title in the AL West, with the loser set up to be in one of the Wild Card spots.

Out of all the teams I’ve talked about in this article, they strike me as the least likely to pay for a starting pitcher like Happ or Estrada. An injury could change that in a hurry of course, so never rule out the possibility.

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To me, the more likely fit would be in the outfield, where they’ve had mixed production from their group this season. George Springer isn’t going anywhere, but Marwin Gonzalez and Josh Reddick have both been on the disappointing side. Tony Kemp has been solid in his limited playing time, but it’s hard to say if the Astros want to count on him down the stretch.

The Blue Jays don’t have a huge upgrade to offer them, but someone like Steve Pearce could be a decent fit for the Astros. His ability to play an outfield corner could be a decent platoon match with Reddick, and he could also play a bit of first base in the right matchups.

The Astros could also be interested in some of the Blue Jays bullpen arms, but that might cost a little more than Pearce would. They do have some talent there and showed last year they weren’t afraid to be creative once the postseason started, but an upgrade would make the strong team even better, even if they could add Charlie Morton back to the bullpen for the postseason.

Overall, there likely isn’t much of a match to be had here, but as I said early, an early could change everything, and there are still more than six weeks until the July 31st trade deadline. As we’ve witnessed with the Blue Jays as well, things can go a lot differently than we expect.

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