Toronto Blue Jays: The familiar faces in the NL East

Atlanta Braves

On the mound, the Blue Jays could see Darren O’Day who spent seven seasons as a key part of the Orioles’ bullpen. One thing that comes to mind when thinking of O’Day is his battles with Jose Bautista, as over the years, Bautista and O’Day feuded which led to arguments, near brawls and highlight moments. The Braves acquired O’Day at the 2018 trade deadline.

If O’Day is on the mound, catching him could be Travis d’Arnaud who was a former top prospect in the Blue Jays organization. d’Arnaud was originally acquired as part of the Roy Halladay trade, but was then traded to the Mets a few years later as part of the R.A. Dickey trade. The Braves signed him in the offseason to a two-year deal.

The Jays are usually big players on the international market and one player they signed years ago was Adeiny Hechavarria. He played 41 games for the Jays in 2012 where he was a glove-first shortstop, which he has been his whole career. He was a part of the big trade with the Marlins that brought in Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson among others. He played parts of the season on the Braves in 2019 and they brought him back for another go-around.

Another player that roamed around the infield at Rogers Centre when he was in a Jays uniform was Yangervis Solarte. In 2018 with the Jays, he slashed .226/.277/.378 with 17 HR. He got off to a scorching hot start and was known for dancing when his teammates hit home runs, but he grounded into a lot of double plays which led to him being non-tendered. He signed a minor league deal with the Braves this offseason and will be competing for a spot on the roster.

While he hasn’t played in the AL East since 2014, Nick Markakis was the Orioles primary right fielder for nine years and played many games at the Rogers Center. In 2017, there were rumours linking a Braves/Jays trade that would have seen Markakis come north of the border but it ultimately didn’t happen.