Blue Jays: Ranking the Year’s Past Trades

It’s approaching September, and we are currently watching the Blue Jays team that we were all expecting way back in March. This roster began forming way back in 2015, when the Jays signed a teenage Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as an International Free Agent. Since then, pieces have continued to be added and subtracted in the hopes of creating that ultimate roster that’s capable of going all the way. Through development, key free agent signings, and many trades, the Blue Jays currently sit at a 76.8% chance of making the postseason per Baseball Reference. Despite losing two impact players from the previous year, this year’s club has improved in many facets of the game.

Better defence and pitching has been a large part of the club’s identity, to go along with a ever-so gifted offence. This roster has been boosted since this past winter, most notably through a number of trades. The process of addition began in the offseason, ceased over the course of the lockout, picked up once Spring Training commenced, and concluded at the beginning of August after the trade deadline. The players, front office, and fans alike have no choice but to be content with the additions made.

At this point, it’s a suitable time to take a step back and compare these trades to each other. All players have, who have been both acquired and shipped off, have had ample opportunities to provide results to their respective clubs. Deciding if a trade was good or bad is an interesting conversation, and to me it comes down to four things;

1. What was given up?
2. How large of a need was it for the Blue Jays?
3. How have the received player(s) performed?
4. How have the given up player(s) performed?

With this criteria in mind, let’s rank the seven trades made by Ross Atkins since this past offseason.