Blue Jays sign four pitchers after MLB Draft which could hint at their trade deadline strategy

The Toronto Blue Jays drafted nine pitchers during the 2026 MLB Draft. Cole Carlon was chosen first (No. 39 overall) while Nolan Higgins was picked in the fifth round. The Blue Jays then went on a pitching spree in the later rounds of the draft. From picks 12-18 then only selected pitchers.

And they weren't done there as they managed to sign four more pitchers following the draft. With the draft only at 20 rounds, that leaves lots of senior aged college arms that are free to sign with any club, and the Blue Jays decided to pounce on a few of those. Reese Bassinger, Dax Dathe, Devon King, and Gavin Seebold were all signed in the aftermath of the draft.

Bassinger is a right-hander listed at six-foot-one and 185-pounds. He played at the University of West Virginia for the last two years. This past season he posted a 4-3 record in 31 games, with a 3.30 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. He managed to strike out 64 batters in 60 innings and worked exclusively out of the bullpen, picking up two saves in the process.

Dathe saw limited action this season at LSU, but he had a strong 2025 campaign while pitching for Angelo State University. Dathe went 8-1 with a 2.99 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP in 15 games, including 13 starts. He threw 72.1 innings and racked up 98 strikeouts.

King played for the University of California, San Diego and during his three years with the Tritons, King pitched to a 5.21 ERA in 54 games. This past season he pitched 33.2 innings with a 1.04 WHIP and a 3.48 ERA, striking out 37 batters in the process.

Seebold hails from the University of Indiana. The right-hander posted a 4.67 ERA and 1.49 WHIP in 17 games this past season. He tossed 44.1 innings and struck out 56 hitters, while picking up two saves in the process.

Blue Jays loading up on pitching talent ahead of the deadline

The Blue Jays have created an influx of pitching talent into their system and it brings up the question of whether or not that means they will be looking to move pieces at the trade deadline. They hit the All-Star break with a 45-51 record, and 2.5 games back of the Wild Card spot.

One good week can catapult them into a more secure position but with the numbers they have been posting internally over the last little while, they may not be able to get that done without some outside help. Last year, the Blue Jays utilized some of their pitching prospect capital to acquire pitchers Shane Bieber, Louis Varland and Seranthony Dominguez.

Perhaps another shopping spree is coming for Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins and he knows it's going to cost some of the young pitching they currently have in the system. Guys like Johnny King and Nolan Perry (who just played at the MLB Futures Game) are likely being asked about in potential deals.

The Blue Jays don't have a great track record of developing pitchers and so when it seems like they finally are developing a pitching pipeline it's hard to give up on those prospects. However, if you trust your development staff and think you've got plenty of pieces to move around the chess board, then it wouldn't be a surprise to see Atkins ship out an arm or two at the deadline.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow