Toronto Blue Jays: NL teams most likely to call about trade talks

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TORONTO, ON – JUNE 15: Trea Turner #7 of the Washington Nationals reacts after striking out for the final out of the game in the ninth inning during MLB game action as Russell Martin #55 of the Toronto Blue Jays records the final putout at Rogers Centre on June 15, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

In a follow up to yesterday’s article about AL contending teams that could call the Blue Jays about a trade, here are the NL contenders who may do the same.

The Blue Jays managed to pull off an unlikely victory against the Nationals to open their three game set at the Rogers Centre, and will look to build some positive momentum in the back half of June. Things haven’t been great since the month of April closed, and the poor play of the ball club has put them in a major hole in the playoff race.

That deficit is so deep that the Blue Jays may have to accept that the 2018 will go down as a write off. Miracles can happen, and it’s not completely impossible yet, but with them being 13.5 games back in the Wild Card race entering play on Friday, the hill is incredibly steep. Their chances wouldn’t be great if the team was playing well, and they’re even more unlikely given their extended struggles.

With that in mind, the front office is likely beginning to make plans for 2019 and beyond, and those plans likely won’t include a number of the current players on the roster. There are several players on contracts that expire at the end of this season, and each of them will more than likely end up on the trade block, if they haven’t already. The non-exhaustive list includes the likes of Josh Donaldson, J.A. Happ, Marco Estrada, Curtis Granderson, Steve Pearce, and more.

When a team struggles as bad as the Blue Jays have, there’s a good chance that rival GMs could call about other players as well. Whether or not Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro are interested in entertaining that remains to be seen, but there’s a good chance they’ll be busy at the trade deadline regardless.

Yesterday I took a look at the American League teams that might give the Blue Jays a call before the July 31st trade deadline, and there are a few teams that make definite sense as trade partners. Over in the National League, there are even more clubs in the playoff hunt, and thus, more potential buyers for the Blue Jays’ rentals.

Let’s have a look at who that might include.

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