Blue Jays' rivals missed opportunity to build a super rotation at the deadline

If it wasn't for the Boston Red Sox going on an absolute tear, the Toronto Blue Jays would have a much more comfortable lead in the AL East. With the Yankees falling back and the Blue Jays going 54-33 since the beginning of May, Toronto have had control of the top spot in the division for quite some time.

However, the Red Sox have been right on their heels, with a record of 48-37 in the same span, and according to one MLB insider, they were very close to completely loading up at the deadline. In a recent article in the NY Post (subscription required), Jon Heyman wrote about nine stars who stayed with their respective teams, and the Red Sox were linked to a couple of them who could've been game changers down the stretch.

Blue Jays' rivals missed opportunity to build a super rotation at the deadline

Heyman says the Red Sox were linked to Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera of the Marlins, as well as Joe Ryan of the Twins. He writes, "The Marlins understandably wanted either Spencer Jones or Miami product George Lombard Jr. from the Yankees. The Red Sox and Cubs ultimately came closest, but no one was especially close for the two controllable star starters."

He added, "The Red Sox came late too for the ultra-busy Twins, who somehow found time to trade nearly 40 percent of their roster. Top Red Sox prospects Frankline Arias (SS), Johstynxon Garcia (OF) and Payton Tolle (LHP) all were mentioned but the Twins didn't want to rush into trading their ace, especially when controllable starters bring comparable value in winter."

A few things to take from all that is that the Red Sox, like most contenders were hoping to upgrade their pitching, but didn't get the job done with true star power. While they brought in left-hander Steven Matz, and right-hander Dustin May, Ryan, Cabrera and Alcantara would have made the Red Sox a downright scary team in a short playoff series.

They already have a Cy Young contender for this year in Garret Crochet who fronts the staff with a league leading 2.24 ERA and an 11.1 SO/9. Meantime, both Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito have had good bounce back campaigns. Beyond those three the Red Sox have a handful of guys that can fit a 4-5 role in the rotation, including May. Certainly when Walker Buehler is healthy and dealing, he's a scary pitcher and is perfect in that role. In his latest outings he shut out the Padres through six innings of four hit ball and four strikeouts.

Inserting an ace like Ryan behind Crochet might have been all the Red Sox needed to completely close the gap on Toronto and overtake them for the top spot in the AL. He sits sixth in the AL in both ERA (2.79) and strikeouts (146). Cabrera may not be an "ace" yet, but he's proving he's not far off from being a guy who could also lead a rotation. With a 3.08 ERA and 114 strikeouts in 108 innings pitched. He's also held opponents to a .218 average.

While they may have whiffed on solidifying their rotation with a top shelf arm, what they did get was former Blue Jay Matz, who has reinvented himself as a bulk relief pitcher this season. Matz had 47 strikeouts in 55 innings pitched with a 122 ERA+ out of the Cardinals bullpen before the trade. He gives the Red Sox another lefty option out of a bullpen that already has a top five ERA.

While the Red Sox may not have gotten the job done at the deadline to completely overhaul their pitching, it hasn't seemed to matter just yet as the team is 6-1 since the deadline.