Blake Murphy on the Blue Jays' trade deadline, prospect value, and rotation depth

With the Blue Jays currently sitting 17 games above .500 and leading an AL East that’s up for grabs, the looming trade deadline feels like more than just an opportunity for a roster tune-up; it’s a window to really go for it. But, are the 2025 Toronto Blue Jays actually as strong as their record suggests? To dig deeper, I sat down with Sportsnet’s Blake Murphy for some insight.

Blake was firm: the Blue Jays need to be aggressive. “If you are a run differential person or projection model person and you see the Blue Jays and they’re in first place... that is the biggest case to be super aggressive at the deadline,” he said. “You have been gifted wins, and they're not a bad team. You don't accidentally lead the AL East, but you gotta take those and push it in.” 

Blake Murphy on the Blue Jays' trade deadline, prospect value, and rotation depth

I wanted to get Blake’s take on what the true ceiling of this team might be, considering Anthony Santander is not even allowed to look at his bat yet and Andrés Giménez has been on the IL a couple times.

“When I’m working through what the lineup looks like when everyone’s healthy... I don’t know. Is Santander hitting sixth or seventh? Like, he’s not penciled into the top four spots in the order, that’s for sure,” Murphy said while I nodded. “And with Giménez, it’s fair to question what he’s going to give you the rest of the way, too.”

He sees the Jays as “three or four pieces away” from being a legitimate division-winning team. “Baseball’s cruel, man. Like 2021—you can be a great team and still miss out because of one game. You don’t always get breaks, so when you do, you need to push.”

Robbie: How tight do you think the Jays are going to hold onto their top guys in the farm system?

Blake: “They’ve shown they’ll move prospects, even big-name ones, if the return justifies it. But they’re smart about it.”

He pointed to the deal involving Bérríos back in 2021, as an example. “They traded Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson when both were seen as top-50 guys. But Berríos had control and was a rock-solid number three. That’s the type of player it takes.”

Blake continued. “You’re talking about someone who’s starting a Wild Card game for you and is still in your rotation beyond this year,” he said. “You don’t move those guys for someone with a 4.40 ERA and one year of team control.” It’s also worth noting that Berrios is 3rd in the Major Leagues in innings pitched over the last four years.