How past trade deadline failures shaped Blue Jays approach in 2025

It may not have been splashy but the Toronto Blue Jays added the pieces they needed to add to make a real run at the 2025 postseason. While they were linked to some big name players and had the prospect capital to seemingly pull those deals off - GM Ross Atkins came out of the 2025 deadline with several high upside players without selling off the entire farm.

Between the acquisitions of Seranthony Dominguez, Louis Varland, Shane Bieber and Ty France, Atkins deserves some credit for putting together what could go down as one of his most successful deadlines in his tenure with Toronto. Since his first trade deadline with the Blue Jays in 2016, Atkins has never had the Blue Jays in first place in the AL East going into deadline day. So while 2025 was somewhat unchartered territory for this front office brass, they seemed to have learned from their mistakes of previous deadlines when they were in contention, namely in 2022 and 2023.

How past trade deadline failures shaped Blue Jays

In 2022, the Blue Jays were in first place in the Wild Card standings, with a three game lead on deadline day, and the team had similar needs to this years' team. They needed some flexibility in the lineup with too many high strikeout, lower contact hitters. They also wanted to shore up the bullpen, and could have used an upgrade in the rotation as well.

Atkins decided to go super conservative and make some very under the radar moves picking up pitchers Mitch White, Anthony Bass and Zach Pop, while adding utility player Whit Merrifield. None of these moves actually moved the needle for the Blue Jays in 2022.

While Bass had a solid 28 games down the stretch and the addition of Merrifield gave Manager John Schnieder a veteran option to utilize around the diamond, they weren't exactly game changers and the Blue Jays, although they finished 92-70, second in the AL East, were swept from the Wild Card series by the Seattle Mariners.

Their may have been some hesitation in making a major splash on the market that year. After all, the prior season they traded two of their top prospects to get José Berrios in a season where they fell one game short of a playoff berth. Not wanting to deplete the farm system, Atkins went fishing in shallower waters and perhaps paid the price. Of course this was the year the Blue Jays blew a big lead in the second game of their Wild Card series to Seattle, and reshaped the front offices' focus to being more defensive minded.

That philosophy carried over through the offseason and into the 2023 deadline where they once again failed to land a major name in a year they certainly needed some upgrades in just about every facet of the roster. But with a 59-48 record on deadline day, and just two-and-a-half games up on the Red Sox for that final spot, there was some hesitancy from the front office to make any major adjustments.

They focused on pitching upgrades, getting Génesis Cabrera and Jordan Hicks and in an emergency move due to a Bo Bichette injury, they brought in Paul DeJong for a cup of coffee before he was DFA'd. It was a pitifully sad march to the end of the season, where the Blue Jays finished 89-73, just barely making it to the playoffs, and then promptly being sent home in two games by the Twins thanks in part to an all-time managerial gaffe.

Now in 2025, the Blue Jays got out of the deadline with the pieces they needed, and nothing more. While some may view it as still not being enough, others like the fact that they hung on to some major names down on the farm and on the big league roster. Time will tell if the strategy will pay off, but 2025 was a refreshing approach from a front office who had to reward the team for their superb first half of the season.