3 rival trades that could totally ruin the second half for the Blue Jays

Rumors are flying rampant at this stage of the MLB calendar and contenders are beginning to line up, in hopes of pursuing those players who can help put them over the top.

The Toronto Blue Jays, while in a situation to be buyers themselves, also have to be weary of what teams around them could potentially do at the deadline as well. With just a few moves, all that hard work the Blue Jays have put in over the last two and a half months, could go out the window.

3 rival trades that could totally ruin the second half for the Blue Jays

1. Seattle lands Eugenio Suárez

Recent reports suggests the Mariners have interest in one of their former players, and current third baseman of the Diamondbacks, Eugenio Suárez. In fact it goes beyond just interest, according to Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, Suárez is viewed as Seattle's top target. Suárez hit 53 home runs for the Mariners between 2022-23 and was traded to Arizona during the '23 off-season. He's gone on to hit 66 home runs (and counting) for the Diamondbacks, and made the 2025 All-Star team, and currently shares the National League lead with Shohei Ohtani with 36 home runs.

The Mariners are currently in a Wild Card spot and there is a potential first round playoff re-match waiting to happen between the Mariners and the Blue Jays. The last iteration of these two combatants ended in the most embarrassing loss in Blue Jays playoff history when the Mariners overcame a seven-run deficit to sweep the Blue Jays in two games at Rogers Centre.

Yes, the make up of both teams are much different than they were three years ago, but if the Mariners add Suárez in the middle of their lineup that already features noted Blue Jays killer Cal Raleigh, their pitchers' jobs becomes much more difficult.

2. Yankees get Suárez AND Mitch Keller

Take everything we just said about Suárez but have him hitting in front of or behind Aaron Judge. The Blue Jays have shown their tendency to pitching around Judge, while outright letting him have first base on the intentional walk seven times in nine games. It would be much harder to justify that strategy if Suárez was added to the Yankees lineup.

The Yankees have been struggling on both sides of the ball since the end of May. They were 35-20 on May 28, with a seven game lead in the AL East. Since then, they have gone 21-25 and they are 14-18 in one run games, while having 23 blown leads this year. They are still scoring a healthy amount of runs, in fact they have the third most runs scored of any AL team over the last month (130), and adding Suárez would no doubt keep that train rolling.

The main issue with the Yankees seems to be in their pitching, and not only have they checked in on

Suárez, but they are also in the mix for Mitch Keller of the Pirates, someone who the Blue Jays have also been linked to.

The Yankees interest in Keller was reported by Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Keller would slot in nicely into the Yankees rotation behind Carlos Rodón and Max Fried. Due to injuries, the Yankees currently have their bottom three rotation as Marcus Stroman, rookies Will Warren and Cam Schlittler, and Keller would be an upgrade over all three of them.

If the Yankees swoop in and shore up their need for a bat, plus their need for a pitcher while nabbing a guy the Blue Jays have also had their eyes on, it could spell some bad news for the Blue Jays chances at capturing an AL East title.

3. Red Sox add Seth Lugo

In a report by Mike Rosenstein, the Boston Red Sox have interest in Seth Lugo of the Kansas City Royals. The Red Sox are trying to solidify a spot for themselves in the Wild Card chase, and with they could get their by being aggressive and going after the 35-year-old right hander.

Lugo has a player option for 2026, which he will likely turn down and the Red Sox will have to weigh whether they want to give up controllable assets for what could be a rental player. The Royals are reportedly looking for younger outfielders who are, or just about, MLB ready. The Red Sox have those players and that's why they make sense as trade partners for the Royals.

The Blue Jays have also been linked to the Royals as a potential trade partner to acquire either Lugo or another Royals starter in Kris Bubic. The problem for the Blue Jays could be that Bubic may cost more as he is younger and won't face free agency until 2027 - with another arbitration year coming up in 2026.

If the Blue Jays are the Red Sox are shopping for the exact same player(s) there could be a bidding war, and there is potential for the Blue Jays to overpay. We could also get a scenario where one pitcher goes to Toronto, the other goes to Boston and we could get a head-to-head playoff matchup where the two former Royals starters face each other in a do-or-die situation. Imagine the uproar if the guy the Blue Jays get ends up having an awful outing and the Jays get eliminated by Boston. Talk about nightmare fuel!

While this is shaping up to be an exciting deadline for the Blue Jays, these are three scenarios that could really put a dampen on their plans for the remainder of 2025.