Identifying one potential Blue Jays trade target on every seller

Whether you call it parity or mediocrity, more than 70% of the teams in both the America and National Leagues could theortically be buyers at the trade deadline.

In the American League, the Chicago White Sox, and Los Angeles Angels are the only teams that look like true sellers (as of now). While the Baltimore Orioles have had a horrible start, it would be foolish for their front office to waste this season when they have so much young talent.

In the National League, there are four teams that are out of the race (the Rockies, Pirates, Marlins and Nationals), along with two teams on the fringe in the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers.

It'll be interesting to see how this impacts things at the trade deadline, as the lack of true sellers means could result in plenty of bidding wars among the teams looking to add reinforcements at the deadline.

While the Blue Jays have been hovering around .500 for the better part of the last week, it's hard to imagine them not being buyers at the deadline so long as they don't bottom out fully in May and June.

With that in mind, here's a look at a potential trade deadline target from every seller who could help the Blue Jays in their quest to return to the postseason.

Note: All stats are entering Friday.

Identifying one potential Blue Jays trade target on every seller

Colorado Rockies: RHP Jake Bird

The Rockies may be on their way toward the worst season in MLB history, but they have a few bright spots on their team, Bird being one of them.

The 28-year-old right hander is in his fourth season with the Rockies, and is on pace for a career year. He's recorded a 1.78 ERA and 33 strikeouts through 25 innings this season, which is good for a 31.1% strikeout rate. His 11.72 K/9 is the third-best among relief pitchers who have thrown at least 20 innings.

You can never have enough competent pitching in the bullpen and Bird would be a fine addition to the Blue Jays relief corps.

He's a year away from arbitration so his price tag's going up and he likely doesn't fit into the Rockies' next contention window (if one exists), so it would be organizational malpractice if Colorado doesn't put him on the block ahead of the trade dead.

Chicago White Sox: CF Louis Robert Jr.

The White Sox really don’t have a lot of attractive options on their roster other than Robert, and even he isn't looking great. While the 27-year-old is currently slashing .190/.296/.321, he leads MLB with 17 stolen bases, which would be a welcome addition to the Blue Jays' offense. The Blue Jays are 22nd in MLB with 27 stolen bases, and really only have one true basestealing threat in the everyday line in Andrés Giménez.

Myles Straw and Jonatan Clase both have better sprint speed (93rd percentile) than Robert (85th percentile), but they're both better suited for a platoon roles at this point. Robert is a few years removed from hitting 38 home runs posted an OPS+ of 138.

Robert would likely cost a lot in terms of a return(he's technically under contract until 2028), and the Blue Jays would paying a premium for a player who is in the midst of a pretty serious slump.

Still, he's a five-tool player when he's on, so it could be a risk worth taking.

Pittsburgh Pirates: RHP Andrew Heaney

The Pirates are the complete opposite of the White Sox; they have several really good players but can’t find a way to put together wins. While names like Paul Skenes, and Oneil Cruz would be the prize of the trade deadline, there's now way the Pirates would move either of them. Instead, we’ll focus on Heaney, the the 34-year-old lefty who has a 3.15 ERA.

The Blue Jays don’t have a lefty starter and have an open spot in the rotation until until Max Scherzer returns.

While they have José Ureña, Eric Lauer, and (eventually) Spencer Turnbull as options for that spot, Heaney is better than all of those options. While he doesn't do anything exceptional, he does a tremendous job of keeping hitters guessing with a six-pitch mix.

Opposing batters are hitting .175 against on his four-seam fastball and .119 batting against on his changeup.

He'll be a free agent at the end of the season, so this would be a great “buy low” option for the Blue Jays.

Miami Marlins: RHP Anthony Bender

The Marlins are another team without a lot of clear trade targets, through they do have some intriguing names in their bullpen. The most intriguing of them is Bender, a 30-year-old right-hander who has yet to give up a home run in 18 innings this season.

He isn’t striking out a ton of hitters (14 strikeouts compared to eight walks), but he's still just allowed four runs this year. The Blue Jays bullpen has allowed 20 home runs this season (which is tied for the fifth-most in MLB), so adding a guy who can keep the ball in the ballpark would be a huge win.

Los Angeles Angels: LF Taylor Ward

This simply comes down to power. Ward's 10 home runs would lead the current Blue Jays by a good margin (Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer and Daulton Varsho all have five).

He doesn’t offer much else since he’s not a great fielder, doesn’t run well, and he strikes out a lot (26.7% strikeout rate). He’s not a free agent until 2027, so the Angels likely aren’t in a hurry to move him, but he fills an obvious hole in the Blue Jays' lineup.

The Blue Jays' left field picture is currently occupied by a variety of speedy, contact-orientated players. Ward bring some much needed power to that equation.

Washington Nationals: Amed Rosario

Stop us if you've heard this before: Another seller with slim pickings. Washington's beginning to reap the benefits of the Juan Soto trade now that James Wood, CJ Abrams and Mackenzie Gore look legit, but they're still likely a year away from truly competing. They don't have much outside of that group, as their roster is a mix of young unproven talent and veterans that aren’t having particularly great seasons.

However, Rosario has been a very useful player to start this season and can offer the Blue Jays a veteran presence with positional versatility. He can play every infield position except first and has also taken reps in the outfield in years prior.

He's slashing .295/.321/.436 with an OPS+ of 114 in 23 games this year, and would give the Blue Jays a reliable bench option. He could give Bichette a break at short and woul also raise the floor of the current infield mix of Ernie Clement, Addison Barger and Giménez.

And even when Giménez returns, having Rosario on the bench would be a win. He’s on a one-year $2 million deal with the Nationals and is a prime candidate to be moved. The Nationals likely wouldn't ask for much in this deal.