Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins confirms the deadline strategy everyone saw coming

The Toronto Blue Jays are undoubtedly a team to watch incredibly closely between now and the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline. With the Blue Jays struggling with consistency this season, they should be looking to make multiple additions to their roster by the deadline. This is especially so when noting that they entered the campaign with high expectations.

Following back-to-back losses to the Houston Astros, the Blue Jays had a 39-41 record (going into Jun. 25) and sit third in the American League East. While the Blue Jays currently hold the final wild card spot in the American League, the Astros, Texas Rangers, and Athletics are all just one game behind them. With this, the Blue Jays should be very active.

While recently speaking to reporters, GM Ross Atkins was transparent about his plans for the Blue Jays at the trade deadline. The Blue Jays general manager confirmed that the team's priority at the deadline will be adding to its pitching staff.

"It’s probably starting pitching, but it’s not as easy as just deciding to do that because we have five starters that we’re confident in," Atkins said. "You can just never have enough. We’ve talked about that a lot over the years and over this year, specifically, as we started heavy in that category. We’re just always looking to support that. In an ideal world, it would be optionable starting pitching, one of the hardest things to acquire in baseball."

Hearing that Atkins is hoping to add more pitchers to the Blue Jays' roster is very understandable. It is apparent that their starting rotation could use a real boost as they aim to reach the playoffs. This is especially so when noting that they have been dealing with injury trouble all season.

Blue Jays will have plenty of starting pitcher targets to consider

With the trade deadline getting closer, several pitchers are creating chatter in the rumor mill as trade candidates. A few pitchers who would stand out as potential trade targets for the Blue Jays include Tarik Skubal, Joe Ryan, Reid Detmers, Jose Soriano, Freddy Peralta, Sandy Alcantara, Casey Mize, and Sonny Gray. Realistically, those are just a handful of the many interesting pitchers that the Blue Jays could target.

For the first time since the beginning of the season, the Blue Jays have a full, healthy, five-man rotation with Shane Bieber just coming back into the fold. But all of those names mentioned above could provide an upgrade on the back end of that rotation.

With that, the Blue Jays are undoubtedly going to have many options to consider between now and the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline. If they could add another starter or two, it would be big news for a Blue Jays club that is looking to go on another run this fall.

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