Toronto Blue Jays- The Pursuit of a More Productive Outfield

TORONTO, ON - MAY 10: Teoscar Hernandez #37 of the Toronto Blue Jays and Jonathan Davis #49 and Randal Grichuk #15 jog off the field after their victory during MLB game action against the Chicago White Sox at Rogers Centre on May 10, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - MAY 10: Teoscar Hernandez #37 of the Toronto Blue Jays and Jonathan Davis #49 and Randal Grichuk #15 jog off the field after their victory during MLB game action against the Chicago White Sox at Rogers Centre on May 10, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
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OAKLAND, CA – SEPTEMBER 21: Ramon Laureano #22 of the Oakland Athletics at bat against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at the RingCentral Coliseum on September 21, 2019 in Oakland, California. The Oakland Athletics defeated the Texas Rangers 12-3. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA – SEPTEMBER 21: Ramon Laureano #22 of the Oakland Athletics at bat against the Texas Rangers during the first inning at the RingCentral Coliseum on September 21, 2019 in Oakland, California. The Oakland Athletics defeated the Texas Rangers 12-3. (Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images)

The Trade Market

The trade market can be difficult to navigate.  For the Blue Jays to find a suitable upgrade they would really need a younger, controllable player that would match up with the team’s current contention window.  So let us rule out the Jays trading for Mike Trout or Christian Yelich because lets just face it, that’s not going to happen.  To scour through the possibilities you could dream up just about any trade but the problem is that the Jays would have to give back something substantial and by that I mean a package of Jordan Groshans and another good pitching prospect to start.  So I’ll throw a couple of names out there.

 Ramón Laureano

Laureano currently plays with the Oakland Athletics and was on pace for a 30 homer, 20 steal season before a late-season injury derailed those efforts.  Laureano did produce a 3.9 WAR campaign in 2019 while playing centerfield. Laureano’s slash line was .288/.340/.521. Now let’s remember that the projected 2020 Blue Jays starting outfielders produced WAR of 0.5, 1.2, and 1.8 which combined still doesn’t equal Laureano’s production.  Laureano is young at 25 years of age, controllable until 2025 and doesn’t cost much (which shouldn’t be a decider for the Jays).

Jeff McNeil 

McNeil, like Laureano, is controllable until 2025 but is a bit older as he is currently 27 years of age.  McNeil is not your typical outfielder as the New York Mets moved him around the field playing in both corner outfield positions, 3B and 2B.  McNeil benefits from good contact ability and low strikeout rates and produced a 2019 slash line of .318/.384/.531.  Those numbers are consistent with what he did as a rookie in 2018 over 63 games.  In 133 games in the 2019 season, McNeil was able to produce a WAR of 4.6.

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