A conversation with MLB.com's Keegan Matheson: "Blue Jays can't get cute this year"

With the Toronto Blue Jays holding the best record in Major League Baseball, the 2025 trade deadline looms as one of the most critical deadlines that Jays fans have witnessed in a long while. In part two of my conversation with MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson, we focused on the Blue Jays' playoff rotation, the critical trade deadline strategy, leveraging prospect capital like Arjun Nimmala, and Eric Lauer’s unexpected value.

Robbie: You want to win the division obviously, but who's the one-two-three right now in the Blue Jays rotation if they played in a wild card series today?

Keegan: (Kevin) Gausman game one. I think his start versus the Yankees showed that. I mean, it's always been Gausman. It's always just been waiting on Gausman, but he's game one. Part of me just wants to get crazy and crank up Max Scherzer game two, and tell him, listen. You've got 70 pitches. Max it out. Throw as hard as you can. And then game three... maybe Bassitt.

He mentioned José Berríos as still being in the mix, too, but noted the velo dip. When I asked if the team was truly going all-in this year, Keegan didn’t hold back.

Robbie: How big of a splash do you think they're going to make? Would I be correct by saying the priority goes to the bullpen, starting pitching, then batting?

Keegan: Probably. Yeah. It depends on how many big starters are available, and there might not be a ton. If there’s ever a year to do it, it’s right now. Like, when the hell else are you gonna go for it? I’m always careful around this time because I’m a big believer that some people do the actual job of covering the deadline, but a lot of people just know how to say the right words in the right order to get aggregated and fake it.

That being said, he was clear: the Jays have the tools… prospects, money, and urgency to swing big.

“A) When the hell else are you going to do it? B) They have the prospect capital from a very good year in the farm system. C) They have money, which might be the most important part here. Not just money  from Rogers… but they have money beyond this year because Bichette, Bassitt, Scherzer, Green are all coming off the books," says Matheson. “If you're ever going to make a big, big seismic move, this has gotta be the year. And when opportunities come like this, you can’t get cute with them.”

Matheson also pointed out a common take while tinkering with a team’s roster, but he shut the narrative down awfully quick. “There’s going to be lots of talk about, oh no, do you disturb the chemistry of this team? They’re not children. A good clubhouse is valuable because it lets you add an a**hole to the team, if that a**hole is really good at baseball."

And in terms of the Jays heavy prospect capital, it doesn’t seem like anyone’s off limits, as Matheson says, "It would take a big package, but nobody’s untouchable. It's not like these guys are Vladdy back in 2018. Outside of the top two or three prospects in baseball, it’s wide open. Guys like Johnny King, Kendrys Rojas, Gabe Stanifer… they’re getting hype. But it depends on what the other team wants. Do they want a 19-year-old or a 23-year-old who can join a rotation right now?"

Robbie: That Double A rotation right now, it's incredible.

Keegan: Oh man, amazing. The Jays, especially on the pitching side, have so much going right. A huge amount of prospect development. And no one wants to say this out loud because it admits that there’s some luck involved, but a huge amount of it is just having five guys going at the same time. One or two of them will work.

Robbie: Speaking of bigger named prospects, where’s Ricky Tiedemann at right now?

Keegan: Still rehabbing. Wouldn’t surprise me if he gets back in time to pitch in the complex league or something. Next spring, he is going to make people remember him. Ricky Tiedemann just pushed his body too far. Even if the worst-case scenario is that you shorten him up as a reliever, that’s still pretty fun, man.

We also discussed some potential names that have been floating around as the deadline is on the horizon. We touched on a perfect fit for the Blue Jays, a name that Matheson has been hearing about that the Blue Jays should absolutely be in on.

Keegan: Unless deGrom were to move, and I don't think he will. Someone like Seth Lugo, that's kind of interesting because that would maybe give you a pitcher who's pitching the first three games of the series, which this has to be all about. An idea like Mitch Keller with the Pirates is attractive, but only because he has control beyond this year.

That made me wonder: with Eric Lauer pitching lights out, who just went eight innings giving up only one run, how do you justify bumping him to the bullpen?

Robbie: If they land a top-three starter, how do you justify moving Lauer?

Keegan: I don’t think you could. Eric Lauer has been so good. If you talk about MVP and get into what being valuable really means, Eric Lauer might be the MVP of this team.