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Toronto Blue Jays: Three players the team could use as trade bait

By Tyson Shushkewich

Apr 26, 2019; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins speaks during a press conference before playing the Oakland Athletics at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 26, 2019; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins speaks during a press conference before playing the Oakland Athletics at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-USA TODAY Sports /
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Aug 16, 2020; Buffalo, New York, USA; Toronto Blue Jays catcher Reese McGuire (10) strikes out during the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Sahlen Field. This game is resumed from last night. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 16, 2020; Buffalo, New York, USA; Toronto Blue Jays catcher Reese McGuire (10) strikes out during the fourth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Sahlen Field. This game is resumed from last night. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports /

Reese McGuire

Drafted in the 1st round of the 2013 amateur draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Reese Mcguire would find himself in the Toronto Blue Jays organization when he was traded alongside Francisco Liriano and Harold Ramirez to Toronto in exchange for Drew Hutchinson at the 2016 trade deadline.

Although his 2017 season was hampered by injuries, McGuire would make his Blue Jays debut as a September call up in 2018 and has been floating between the minor leagues/alternative training site and the MLB roster over the past two seasons. During those three years, McGuire has 471 plate appearances along with a .243/.281/.444 slash line, eight home runs, 16 RBI’s and nine walks.

In 2020, McGuire had a bit of a rough year on and off the field. Considered to be a lock on the roster to create a catching tandem with Danny Jansen, McGuire would play in 19 games and would slash an abysmal .073/.073/.146 with one home and one RBI. He would also see his fielding percentage drop to .978% with three errors committed, but would throw 50% of runners out trying to steal (4 for 8). McGuire would end up being sent down to the alternate training site at the start of September and wouldn’t find himself in another game all season.

Off the field, McGuire would find himself arrested during spring training in Dunedin, Florida for exposing himself in a parking lot, a charge in which he would eventually plead guilty to disorderly conduct and pay a $450 fine with no jail time.

What makes Reese McGuire a potential trade bait candidate comes down to a few points:

  1. He won’t reach free agency until 2026
  2. Quite a few teams across the league are looking for controllable and experienced catchers
  3. The Toronto Blue Jays possess a few internal options in Alejandro Kirk, Gabriel Moreno, and Riley Adams who could overtake McGuire on the depth charts (Kirk already appears to on the Blue Jays website).

The Blue Jays have also been tied to free-agent catcher J.T. Realmuto this winter, and while I don’t think the organization will sign the veteran; if he were to find his way North of the border this off-season, McGuire’s days in T.O. would most certainly be numbered.

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