Blue Jays miss out on two of the top relievers, including a prime Toronto target

The Toronto Blue Jays have only made one splash in the trade market so far, acquiring Seranthony Dominguez from the Orioles. That has looked great so far with two scoreless frames, but Toronto has been quiet ever since. Because of that, two top relievers have now come off the board, including a target the Blue Jays were reportedly all in on.

Ryan Helsley was the Cardinals' closer that had a lot of smoke to the Blue Jays. Multiple reporters indicates that the Blue Jays were going all in for him, but now he has landed with the Mets. They had to give up three prospects including Jesus Baez (8th per MLB Pipeline), Nate Dohm (14th), and Frank Elissalt.

The Blue Jays definitely could have made that package work for him, especially if St. Louis was after young pitching. That is exactly what Toronto has to offer in the farm system. The rental could have very well put Jeff Hoffman into a setup role, but now Helsley will become a setup man for the Mets.

Additionally, Jhoan Duran ended up with the Phillies on a wild deal. Minnesota landed two top prosepcts in the organization, including one ranked inside the top 100. That marks the first top 100 prospect dealt at the deadline in three years. This would have been harder for Toronto to do as it may have costed Arjun Nimmala and/or Trey Yesavage. Toronto does not have a farm system like Philadelphia, so that may have been an avenue worth avoiding.

Blue Jays miss out on two star relievers, including Ryan Helsley, a closely linked closer.

So what now? The Blue Jays will likely pivot to other options, such as David Bednar, Anthony Bender, or Phil Maton. All three are affordable and could make this bullpen elite. All of which would have different roles with the team, but the big picture is they would make this bullpen better while not giving up as much prospect capital as Duran costed.

There is less than 22 hours left until the MLB Trade Deadline. Can Ross Atkins add more than just Dominguez? More than likely, but time is running out and he needs to act fast.