Players that could lose their 40-man spot if/when the Blue Jays make trades

ST LOUIS, MO - MAY 24: Santiago Espinal #5 Bradley Zimmer #7 and Vinny Capra #44 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrate their teams victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on May 24, 2022 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images)
ST LOUIS, MO - MAY 24: Santiago Espinal #5 Bradley Zimmer #7 and Vinny Capra #44 of the Toronto Blue Jays celebrate their teams victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium on May 24, 2022 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Joe Puetz/Getty Images) /
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Blue Jays
DETROIT, MI – JUNE 11: Trevor Richards #33 of the Toronto Blue Jays examines a baseball while pitching against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park on June 11, 2022, in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) /

Trevor Richards

One name I did not expect to find myself writing about is reliever Trevor Richards, especially with how well he pitched for the Jays last season.

The right-hander was acquired one year ago today from the Milwaukee Brewers and he finished out the 2021 campaign with a 3.31 ERA through 32 outings, mostly being used in high-leverage situations out of the Jays bullpen.

That success did not transfer over to this season, as the former Brewers reliever has struggled to a 6.10 ERA through 31.0 innings this year and has definitely fallen out of the “circle of trust” in the Jays bullpen. He just recently returned from the IL after battling a neck injury but the Illinois product has not had a great year, allowing 21 earned runs and a 5.5 BB/9 so far this season. He does keep striking out batters at a 10.2 K/9 clip but if he continues to struggle on the mound, the Jays may not have any other choice but to DFA him, as he is out of MiLB options.

One would hope that the neck injury is the reason for his command issues and poor outings in June but if the trend keeps continuing the way it is, a tough decision may need to be made.