Blue Jays pay huge price to acquire Jose Berrios from Minnesota Twins

The Toronto Blue Jays made major headlines earlier today, acquiring starting pitcher Jose Berrios in exchange for top prospects SS/OF Austin Martin and RHP Simeon Woods-Richardson.

Berrios has been on the Blue Jays radar for quite some time, with the organization linked to the Twins starting pitcher for most of the season. This season, the Puerto Rico product has amassed a 3.48 ERA through 20 starts while striking out 126 batters to 32 walks. He also boasts a 1.04 WHIP on the season and is under team control until the end of next year.

He is a legit top-of-rotation arm who will slide in nicely beside current ace Hyun Jin Ryu, standout left-hander Robbie Ray, and rookie Alek Manoah as the Blue Jays attempt to make up ground in the AL East and shoot for a spot in the postseason.

The Toronto Blue Jays have traded two top prospects in Austin Martin and Simeon Woods-Richardson in exchange for starting pitcher Jose Berrios from the Minnesota Twins, a high price to pay for a top of the rotation arm.

As per MLB Pipeline, Martin was ranked #2 and SWR was ranked at #4 within the Blue Jays organization, with both players also ranking within the top 100 prospects in baseball at #16 and #68 respectively.

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Martin was the Blue Jays top pick in last year’s COVID shortened draft and has been cruising in AA this year after a rocky start. He currently owns a .281/.424/.383 through 196 at-bats with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats while also contributing two home runs and 16 RBI through the same time span. He was the team’s lone representative at the Future’s Game earlier this month and did miss some time on the injured list earlier this season.

Woods-Richardson was the Blue Jays’ second top-ranked prospect behind Nate Pearson and was also in AA with the Fisher Cats. After a strong start to the campaign, the right-hander has fallen on hard times and now sports a 5.76 ERA through 45.1 innings and 11 starts with 67 strikeouts and 26 walks. He is currently with the United States national team as they compete at the Tokyo Olympics.

I have been pretty open about how I think the Blue Jays should acquire Jose Berrios to bolster this club’s starting rotation but can honestly say I am shocked that the organization was willing to give up two top prospects like Martin and SWR to get the deal done.

Looking at other deadline deals over the past few days, it does appear at first glance that the Blue Jays may have overpaid for Berrios and quite a few people will agree/disagree with the trade when the dust finally settles later this afternoon. Berrios does have the pedigree to be a top arm in the rotation and is under contract for another season, which is why the Blue Jays had to sacrifice a few top prospects to get the deal done.

For those of you who follow prospects and the Jays farm system, this deal hurts in that Martin and SWR could potentially be key contributors at the major league level in the near distant future. With this trade, it appears that the front office appears confident in Pearson and fellow infield prospect Jordan Groshans has the potential to be major league starters, making both Martin and SWR expendable for trades.

Does this seem like an overpay? Sure it does, as both players heading to the Twins are most likely going to be major league contributors within the next few years but for veteran arms who can impact the rotation, it makes sense why the club was forced to send Martin and SWR.

What this trade does is solidifies the notion that the Blue Jays are ready to compete over the next two seasons with the current core to try and run for a World Series Championship. Berrios helps with that goal in the now and the Jays still do have some top prospects coming up through the pipeline like Gabriel Moreno and Orelvis Martinez, both of whom could easily be major league contributors in their own right within the next few years alongside Pearson and Groshans.

Some will agree, some will disagree but this trade does help the current roster and does give the Blue Jays a better shot at securing a spot in the postseason, whether you believe it is an overpay or not.

What are your thoughts Blue Jays fans?