3 trade deadline targets the Blue Jays would be smart to consider

Target No. 2: RHP Sonny Gray, St. Lous Cardinals

As mentioned, the Blue Jays have won most of their games thanks to strong starting pitching.

Blue Jays starters have a 3.66 ERA with 115 strikeouts, but they've also allowed 22 home runs, which is tied for the highest-mark in baseball.

But even with that, the Blue Jays still have a question mark at the back of their rotation for as long as Max Scherzer's injured, as their depth is mostly unproven talent.

That’s why a dependable, durable arm who can keep the ball in the ballpark could be on Toronto’s shopping list.

That's where Gray comes in.

The 35-year-old right-hander is in his second full season with the Cardinals after signing a three-year deal after the 2023 season.  

Gray had a fantastic six-year stretch from 2019 and 2024, where he accumulated 19.9 bWAR with 935 strikeouts in 836 2/3 innings pitched. He's a two-time All-Star, and has earned two top-10 Cy Young finishes in his career.

Why it Works

While there will be several “ace”-type candidates available at this year's deadline, Gray is an underrated option.

Gray has allowed just 80 home runs in 800+ innings in 2019, giving him a HR/9 rate of 0.86 over that time frame, which is the seventh-best mark in MLB over that time frame.

That’s better than Yu Darvish (1.27), Dylan Cease (1.06) and Corbin Burnes (0.94). Over the past three seasons, Gray has also kept his home run to fly ball ratio down to a stingy 9.6%. Gray would be another mid-30-year-old arm in this rotation but someone manager John Schneider should have the confidence in to pitch in big games down the stretch.

It would also allow for Gray to work his way back into Toronto's good graces after he helped lead the Twins to a postseason win in 2023.

Why it doesn’t work

Gray won’t be a free agent until after the 2026 season, but he also has a $30 million team option for 2027 with a $5 million buyout, which means that a trade for Gray could be costly.

The Cardinals are stuck in an odd spot where they're building for the future but have a veteran roster, but there' still a chance they'd want to keep a guy like Gray around until the next wave of players is ready.