Blue Jays: Could they trade for one of these outfielders?

The Toronto Blue Jays find themselves alone atop the American League Wild Card race as the trade deadline quickly approaches.

Although most believe the pitching staff is the main focus for upgrading the team, the ongoing injury concerns of outfielder George Springer could lead to a trade for a centre fielder, particularly given the offensive struggles of Bradley Zimmer.

With that in mind, here are some outfielders that the Jays may consider trading for that could help, both with the glove and bat.

Blue Jays: Outfield Depth

If the Blue Jays decide to move on from Zimmer, they need to make sure that they replace him with someone who can run, and cover a lot of ground in the outfield. In that regard, they could do much worse than bringing in a guy like Michael A. Taylor.

He’s long, lanky, and speedy, and has made a few highlight-reel catches this season for the Royals. Taylor has always been a part-time player despite some productive stretches of play with Washington and Kansas City.

He has a bunch of playoff experience and was a member of the 2019 Washington Nationals World Series-winning team and captured his first Gold Glove in his debut season with the Royals in 2021. Taylor is having one of his best seasons offensively (.274, 6 HR in 237 AB) and would be a better option in centre field than Zimmer or Raimel Tapia.

Ramón Laureano

Some of the shine has worn off of Laureano following his 80-game suspension for using PEDs last year. However, he remains a talented player with a rocket arm and some power.

Laureano burst onto the scene in 2018 and quickly made a name for himself with a sensational running catch followed by a strong and accurate throw to nail the runner at first.

He had his best season in 2019 (.288, 24 HR, .860 OPS 3.5 bWAR) and has had some good moments since, but may benefit from a change in scenery. Laureano has two years of arbitration before becoming a free agent in 2025 so trading for him could be an investment, and one that might net positive results.

Jackie Bradley Jr.

As weird as it would be for Jays fans to see JBJ patrolling the outfield for their team, he could be a viable option.

The Red Sox are in the rare position of possibly being sellers at the deadline this year and although Bradley Jr. is hardly the main target on teams’ wish lists, he’s still a premier defensive player.

Bradley Jr.’s hitting has been inconsistent throughout his career but he’s a left-handed bat with some power and speed and when you’re talking about possibly replacing Zimmer’s practically non-existent offence, the bar is pretty low.