10 relief pitchers the Blue Jays should target at the trade deadline

Josh Hader, San Diego Padres

There’s no doubt that anyone that could acquire the services of Josh Hader would instantly put themselves in strong contention for the postseason. After all, Hader is one of the, if not, the best relievers in the league in recent years. For 2023, he has been his usual invincible self again, pitching to an astounding 1.11 ERA, 370 ERA+, 1.02 WHIP, with 20 saves and only 4 earned runs given up, along with 19 walks and 48 strikeouts over 32.1 innings pitched.

For the Jays, the added bonus is that he is also a lefty, which the Jays sorely lack with Tim Mayza being their lone left-handed pitcher out of the bullpen. So the question for Hader isn’t going to be whether the Jays have any interest in him and if he could help the team, but more on how much would it cost them to obtain the premium closer, and as a result, would they have any valuable trade assets left to address their other needs.

Liam Hendriks, Chicago White Sox

Liam Hendriks has been a feel good story of the year so far, as he has finally made his way back to the big leagues after a battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma cancer earlier in the year.  What better way there is to make him feel even better than to bring him back to the Jays for a third time to give him a shot at the postseason once again with the team, like their run back in 2015. At the time, Hendriks was a solid, middling, dependable reliever for the Jays, but since then, he has evolved to become one of the premium closers in the game.

After making his season debut at the end of May for the White Sox, he had gotten into five games of action before some bad luck struck, as he returned to the IL with right elbow inflammation and has been on the sidelines ever since. For the season, Hendriks is 2-0 with a 5.40 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, with one save, and three strikeouts in five innings of work. Whether the Jays plan to pursue their former teammate will strictly depend on his health update in the coming weeks.