Blue Jays: Looking ahead to potential trade partners

Diamondbacks

One of the more disappointing teams in baseball this year has been the Arizona Diamondbacks. There were always going to be holes in their roster, but the D-backs had intentions of competing for a playoff spot this year and not much has gone their way.

That said, they have a few players that could be very interesting to the Blue Jays, especially in their starting rotation. I don’t know that the Jays would have any interest in taking over Madison Bumgarner’s contract, but I’m sure they’d be interested in a couple other starters from Arizona’s rotation.

Zac Gallen is currently on the Injured List, but if he’s able to make a healthy return to the mound before the end of July then Arizona may want to consider shopping him a bit. All he’s done since his debut in 2019 is post a 2.82 ERA and a 1.175 WHIP over his first 32 career starts, quietly becoming one of the better starters in the National League. Why would the D-backs consider trading a guy like that? They probably won’t with four years remaining before he becomes a free agent, but he would be the type of big ticket item the Blue Jays might pay a premium for, as long as his arm injury doesn’t turn out to be serious.

Other than Gallen, there are two or three players that could make sense for the Blue Jays later on. Someone like Eduardo Escobar might give them the steady presence at third base that they arguably need, and he’ll be a free agent at the end of the season. They might also find a use for a veteran reliever with late-inning experience like Joakim Soria, or maybe an veteran catcher like Stephen Vogt, although he hasn’t been hitting much this year.

We’ll see where the 18-34 Diamondbacks are sitting in another month or so, but chances are they’re going to be sellers, and one team worth keeping in touch with.