Blue Jays: With relief market moving quickly, Jays need to get moving

Following the swift trade of star reliever Brad Hand Thursday, the trade market for relievers has picked up in a hurry, and if the Blue Jays want to stay in the game, they need to act quickly before they find themselves competing with some pesky division rivals.

While some might argue that the handsome return the Padres received for reliever Brad Hand was a bit too much, it served multiple purposes. Most evidently, it will probably prove catalytic to the trade deadline rumour mill, as many general managers will probably pick up their phones and engage in reliever-related trade talks now that the first domino has spectacularly fallen.

Secondly, and perhaps quietly, this trade will serve as a measuring stick, a comparable of sorts, for other teams dealing their relief arms. If you’re a team with a wealth of relievers, chances are you’re jumping for joy at the thought of receiving a top-level prospect in exchange for a dominant reliever. However, these types of returns will seldom be seen at this stage.

As has long been discussed on this site and others, the Blue Jays are best suited to trade starter J.A. Happ sooner rather than later, as they could run the risk of going up against other market monoliths like Jacob deGrom or Noah Syndergaard. Similarly, if the Blue Jays wait to deal their relievers, they could be battling Orioles closer Zach Britton, and Mets flamethrower Jeurys Familia  (who as of this writing is rumoured to be on the move to an unknown team) for a piece of the delicious prospect pie. I haven’t personally tasted it, but the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs have openly said it tastes delightful.

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Now, the Blue Jays’ relief assets are not nearly as impressive as the aforementioned two, but at some point, they all end up in one trade deadline melting pot. If a fringe contender wants to make a move to acquire a reliever, it’s more than likely that they’ll only take a chance on one. If I’m a member of the Toronto Blue Jays front office, I want those interested teams to know that my guys are the most available ones on the market.

I’m not going to pretend that I know the details of the inside world of the MLB executive ecosystem, but I’m more than certain that a basic supply and demand principle applies to a trade-based baseball market. The fewer guys are on the block at a given time, the more value those few players have.

With that said, it is my sincere hope that one of Tyler Clippard, John Axford or Seunghwan Oh gets traded within the next week. Not because they’re bad pitchers, in fact quite the opposite – they’ve been good enough that keeping them on this team any longer would actually have the Jays losing the opportunity to stockpile more prospects.

Next: Blue Jays Minor League News and Notes from down on the farm

As the market moves faster than ever, it’s imperative that the front office stays on top of things before the market passes them by. Regardless of what happens, let’s hope that the Jays leaders make smart, efficient, and worthwhile trades that will help this team out in the long run.