Blue Jays: Acquiring upgrades without making big sacrifices

Ross Atkins pulled off another trade to upgrade the Blue Jays roster, and he’s made these improvements without making much of a sacrifice.

It started with the acquisition of Adam Cimber and Corey Dickerson from the Miami Marlins, which should help their bullpen and the bench depth. For that deal all the Blue Jays sent back was a veteran utility man in Joe Panik, and a minor league reliever that most fans had never heard of in Adam McInvale. The Marlins even sent some cash back to the Jays in order to get the deal done.

Cimber and Dickerson aren’t premium upgrades by any means, but both players should help make the Blue Jays better. Cimber has already had some solid appearances out of the bullpen, and while Dickerson is currently on the Injured List, he should fit nicely as a left-handed bat off the bench and provide an upgrade over what Panik could bring to the table.

It’s one thing to go out and acquire help for the roster, but it’s particularly impressive work from Ross Atkins and his staff because they gave up next to nothing. In my mind I saw Panik ending up as a player that could eventually be designated for assignment in order to make room for others on the 40-man roster. Maybe that wouldn’t have happened, but finding upgrades in exchange for a player that could have been let go for nothing is awfully nice. As for McInvale, the 2019 draft pick has some nice upside, but he’s nowhere near the top of the prospect lists for the Blue Jays.

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On Tuesday, Atkins pulled off another move that didn’t cost a whole lot, even if many Blue Jays fans would disagree. The Jays received two pitchers from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Rowdy Tellez, who had fallen out of favour on the depth chart in 2021. There were times that he was arguably the best hitter in the lineup during the shortened 2020 campaign, but that was a short stint and he’s simply been pushed out of regular playing time on the big league roster this year. Based on his current value, as well as the way that fringe first basemen/designated hitters are valued in today’s game, Tellez wasn’t expected to fetch much in return.

Instead the Blue Jays received a useful reliever in Trevor Richards to help the bullpen right away, and another talented arm in Bowden Francis. Richards is a 28 year old right-hander who has a 3.69 ERA and a 1.137 WHIP over 21 appearances that cover 32.1 innings. The Blue Jays are familiar with him from his time with the Rays, and this is actually the second time he’s been dealt this year after starting the year in Tampa Bay. As for Bowden, the 25 year old righty pitched well enough to graduate from Double to Triple-A, and could end up throwing a few innings in the big leagues at some point this year. At worst he’s a throw-in player that could end up being useful as well, and won’t have to use a 40-man roster spot until/unless that happens.

For what it’s worth, I still believe in Rowdy Tellez and think that there will come a day that we’ll look back on this trade and shake our heads. However, I can’t argue with the deal being made right now given the circumstances. Tellez hasn’t performed when his opportunities have come up in 2021, and at some point the 40-man roster is going to get very tight. I feared that there would come a time that Tellez might even be a DFA candidate as well, so I’m glad to see him going to a team that should given him plenty of at-bats, and it’s even better that they’re in the National League in case the big lefty bat gets rolling again.

I would still argue that the Blue Jays could use two more pitchers to put them in a position of being legitimate contenders. I’d like to see them add a true high-leverage reliever to the bullpen, and ideally they’d also find another ace to join Hyun Jin Ryu and the emerging Robbie Ray. That said, they needed several pitchers to properly address the pitching staff, and thankfully Atkins has found a way to bring in two veterans and a wild card for next to nothing in return.