Blue Jays: Ranking The Top 10 Potential Trade Targets

#3-SP Kyle Hendricks

Staying in Chicago, the next player we will look at is Cubs ace Kyle Hendricks.  Hendricks has been one of the best pitchers in baseball over the last seven seasons and was a key piece to the Cubs 2016 World Series Championship.  He came 3rd in Cy Young voting that year and was fantastic in the playoffs and was a huge reason why they were crowned champs.  As mentioned before, the Cubs are making serious changes and trying to shed salary this offseason, and even though Hendricks has been great for them, he may see himself in a new uniform next season and I think it should be a Jays uniform.

Hendricks would be a great fit for the Jays as Ross Atkins stated that they want to make impact moves this offseason and Hendricks would be exactly that as he would be a top of the rotation arm and would make a really nice 1-2 punch along with Hyun Jin Ryu.  Atkins also stated he wants guys who throw strikes and Hendricks does that as the dude doesn’t walk anyone finishing in the 91st, 96th, and 99th percentile in walks allowed over the last 3 seasons according to StatCast.  Hendricks will earn 14 million dollars over the next three seasons and then has a team option for 16 million dollars for a potential fourth year in his deal.

This is a super nice contract meaning that it’ll cost a pretty penny to get Hendricks but you have to give up something to get something and Hendricks is an elite arm so he won’t come cheap.  Hendricks will be 31 next season, so he’s getting up there in age but he’s a pure finesse pitcher with a fastball that tops out in the upper 80’s.  Hendricks relies on command and movement, not velocity, and guys who pitch like this typically age well so I am not as concerned with the age as I would be for a prototypical flamethrower.

TOR receives Kyle Hendricks; CHC receives SP Alek Manoah, C Gabriel Moreno, and SS Otto Lopez