Blue Jays: The pros and cons of adding Whit Merrifield

The Blue Jays made one deal earlier on the final day of the trade deadline, and then came up with an 11th hour swap for Whit Merrifield of the Royals when most of us thought things were done.

I have to admit, my initial reaction to the news was excitement, and then a bit of confusion. If we were talking about the Merrifield that starred for the Royals a couple seasons ago then this would be a massive get for the Blue Jays, but what about in 2022?

To be fair, the Blue Jays were coming up against the 6pm EST deadline, and they hadn’t moved the needle as much as we had all hoped they would by then. They acquired Anthony Bass and Zach Pop from Miami to help the bullpen depth chart, and made a swap with the Dodgers to acquire Mitch White, a capable depth starter, but it still felt like they were still missing that bigger piece of the pie.

In Merrifield the Blue Jays are rolling the dice in a lot of ways, and we probably won’t know how good the trade will turn out to be for quite a while. For now we know that the Jays gave up an emerging depth starter in Max Castillo, and a pretty solid and versatile prospect in Samad Taylor. Was it worth the price the Blue Jays paid, and if not, why not?

Allow me to explain what I believe are the pros and cons to this trade for the Blue Jays, at least as I see it here at the beginning of August. With several variables at play, it feels like it’s pretty early to say whether it was a good or a bad trade for Ross Atkins, and as I said, time will tell us eventually.

And truthfully, there are plenty of arguments for both sides of the deal.

The cons of the last minute deal

If you were like me, you probably spent far too much time on Twitter over the few days in a futile effort to keep up with the trade deadline. Personally, I was awake until past 3am on Monday night, and I was sure that news was going to break any minute.

As more rumoured targets found new teams, it was clear that Ross Atkins and company were going to be working against the clock to make their final roster tweaks ahead of the deadline. In some ways it felt like there must have been back-up plans, as Mitch White was acquired in what felt like moments after the Noah Syndergaard to Philadelphia trade was announced.

When it comes to the Merrifield deal at the buzzer, I’m genuinely curious how much discussion went into it ahead of time. I’m not at all suggesting that it was a blind last minute offer, but the fact that Merrifield’s vaccination status was still up in the air after the deal was a surprising red flag.  Not to come down on the newest Blue Jay, but the reality is that he can only play games on one side of the border if he isn’t vaccinated, and that’s a bit of a problem. We’ll see how this resolves over the next few days, but right now there are a lot of people questioning the Blue Jays front office, and if this goes sour for some reason then they will be justified.

On top of that concern, Merrifield hasn’t been the same player this season, and you have to wonder if he’s started his decline phase, and if so, how steep it’ll be. He’s slashed just .240/.290/.352 this season, all career lows, and he’s never been known for his power. He has still stolen 15 bases in 18 attempts, but he hasn’t been able to provide the same value with the stick this year. That could change with a fresh start and a new motivation, and I’m sure that’s what the Blue Jays are banking on.

As a third and minor nitpick, Merrifield adds yet another right-handed bat to a lineup that’s already full of ’em. We’ve heard for months about how the Blue Jays could use a left-handed bat to compliment the talent they already have, but they had to settle for a righty that’s had a pretty good career in the batter’s box. This is a minor gripe, but still one worth mentioning.

The last thing I feel I have to point out regarding the cons of this deal is the price. I’m actually okay with the value of Max Castillo and Samad Taylor heading back to Kansas City, but I’m surprised the Blue Jays felt they could afford to give up Castilllo when they are so short on viable rotation options for their big league club. Castillo was basically serving as the safety net in case Yusei Kikuchi falls apart again, and while I realize that Mitch White can serve in a similar capacity, I’m still surprised they didn’t add more depth. That feels like a mistake to me, even if I hope I’m wrong.

At the end of the day, I think it was a trade worth making for Ross Atkins and the Blue Jays, and I hope that we see what Merrifield is fully capable of. If that’s the case, this trade will turn out to be a steal. On the other hand, there’s always the risk and possibility that things could go sideways too. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how this ones plays out.