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

Matt Moore, Los Angeles Angels

Finally, one of the prime offseason targets that we even proposed that the Jays should pursue during the 2022-23 offseason, Matt Moore would be an ideal fit for the Jays’ bullpen. For someone who used to be a premium starter in the big leagues, he has certainly reinvented himself as a truly effective, solid and dependable reliever for the past couple of years, so good that perhaps he is even better than his prior accomplishments as a starter.

For 2023, Moore has put up a strong 3-1 record, with a 1.44 ERA, 310 ERA+, 0.80 WHIP, giving up only four earned runs all year, with seven walks and 21 strikeouts over 25 innings pitched. However, he has been out with a right oblique strain since the end of May, but is projected to return after the All-Star break. The other problem is, the Angels are currently also in the thick of the playoff chase with the Jays for the wildcard positions in the American League. However, with Mike Trout's recent wrist injury, it could be enough to potentially put the Angels' playoff hopes in jeopardy. If not, then the series between the Jays and the Angels at the end of July will be that much more critical. If the Jays can put the Angels to bed with a sweep at that time, it maybe just enough to make the Angels sellers at the deadline, making the highly-prized Moore there for the taking.

Nevertheless, the Jays will probably need to add at least one, and perhaps two strong bullpen arms between now and the deadline to give their bullpen the strength and stability needed to be a strong contending team down the stretch. In particular, they should try their best to have one of the arms be a lefty, and another one be a shutdown, strikeout-flamethrower just to give their overall relief corps the right balance and mix to be successful in whatever game situation they end up facing.