Blue Jays: Comparable Relievers on the Trade Market

Recent Deals Elsewhere in the League

On the other side of the baseball world, many similarly structured deals for rental relievers have taken place. Last season, the Mets sent righty Addison Reed to the Red Sox for three minor leaguers, while the Phillies dealt Pat Neshek to the Rockies for a trio of youngsters, including Colorado’s 24th ranked prospect, pitcher J.D. Hammer.

Both veterans, the Reed and Neshek trades can be carefully examined to review the potential return on a dominant, proven reliever. Both righties, the two had at least some experience closing games at some point in their careers.

As for the Blue Jays, a potential Tyler Clippard deal can be compared to the Reed deal, while a trade involving Seunghwan Oh can be estimated to be closer to Neshek’s deal, given his team-friendly, modest option for the 2019 season and his recent success at the major league level.

Other notable trades include those of Zach Duke (traded for outfield prospect Charlie Tilson, number nine prospect in the St. Louis organization in 2014) and Fernando Abad (dealt to the Red Sox for fellow reliever Pat Light) in 2016 and Joe Blanton, who was acquired by the Pirates at the 2015 deadline for cash considerations.

Trades involving relievers can generally involve a ton of variation in result, return and overall success. Of all the trades mentioned above, the Zach Duke trade might be the likeliest comparable for this front office. In the past, we’ve seen them attempt to acquire prospect capital in the most reliable way possible, and using Duke’s model would fit into that perfectly.