Blue Jays: Top ten trades made by general manager Ross Atkins

5. June 29th, 2021

Blue Jays receive: RHP Adam Cimber and OF Corey Dickerson

Miami Marlins receive: INF Joe Panik and RHP Andrew McInvale

With the Blue Jays needing some help in the bullpen, Ross Atkins made a call down to Miami and acquired right-handed reliever Adam Cimber as well as outfielder Corey Dickerson in exchange for bench infielder Joe Panik and minor league reliever Andrew McInvale.

The move was what the Jays needed, as inconsistency and injury troubles were really impacting the Jays playoff chances and Cimber was able to come in and pitch well, finishing the season with a 1.69 ERA through 39 appearances while earning a 0.964 WHIP and a 1.2 BB/9. He was also with the Jays a week before Trevor Richards showed up and a month before the team acquired Joakim Soria and Brad Hand.

Cimber was heavily relied upon in the later innings and high-pressure situations, which is what the Jays desperately needed alongside Jordan Romano. Dickerson was also an added bonus, as the club gained a lefty-hitting power bat that they needed once Tellez was traded as well with Cavan Biggio spending time on the IL. He was still recovering from a foot injury at the time of the trade but he would suit up in 46 games for the Jays, compiling a .282/.329/.450 slash line with four home runs. The addition of Dickerson was a cash dump for Miami, who wanted his salary off the books but worked out well for the Jays considering they could use another lefty bat and outfielder on the bench.

Since taking over as Blue Jays general manager, Ross Atkins has made quite a few trades. Let’s take a look at the top ten since becoming the GM.

Heading to Miami was veteran Panik, who spent one and a half seasons with Toronto but never played a single game North of the border due to the pandemic. After the deal, Panik struggled in Florida, sporting a .462 OPS through 122 at-bats. McInvale went to AA and finished the year with a 5.70 ERA through 21 relief appearances in Pensacola.

Ranked at #5, the acquisition of Cimber is great for the Jays because he still has two years of contract control through arbitration (as per the most recent CBA) and will not cost a significant amount of salary to keep compared to free-agent options like Kenley Jansen. While it would be lofty to expect the right-hander to post a sub-2.00 ERA again this year, another solid season with the Jays will go a long way for fans who had to struggle through Tyler Chatwood and Rafael Dolis on the mound last year.

The assets needed to acquire Cimber and Dickerson will also not impact the Jays organization too heavily in the grand scheme of things, as Panik is currently a free agent, but Dickerson is also currently a free agent which does impact the rankings slightly. I would personally like for him to come back (and I am not the only one), as the Jays could use another lefty-bat, and will say that this trade would move up the rankings list if he was not a one-and-done candidate in Toronto.