2 Blue Jays trade rumors we hope come true, 1 we hope doesn't happen

The MLB trade deadline is right around the corner, and the Toronto Blue Jays have been mired in speculation for weeks now. Most of the chatter has been about what their plans will or won't be and their goal of wanting to be competitive next season.

We're in crunch time now, and after last year's underwhelming deadline, it's anyone's guess what the roster will look like by the 6:00 p.m. ET deadline on July 30. With all hopes of competing for a postseason berth this season out the window, there will undoubtedly be pieces moved out before Tuesday as the Blue Jays become sellers. According to The Athletic's Kaitlyn McGrath, they are treading lightly as conservative sellers (subscription required).

2 Blue Jays trade rumors we hope come true, 1 we hope doesn't happen

As fans, it's always hard to see players leave, especially if they've been a part of the core for a few seasons. However, at the end of the day, baseball is a business and we can all agree that expiring contracts need to be leveraged for the future. That's one area of the roster that insiders have confirmed the front office is looking to deal from.

Who will stay to play out the string this season and be part of the 2025 squad that the organization hopes to compete with? Who will leave and bring back prospects for the future?

With a handful of players at the end of their current deals, there are a few candidates general manager Ross Atkins can ship out the door. And despite trade rumors touching all parts of the current roster, there are certain assets that we don't want to see wearing a different uniform come July 31.

Here's a look at three pressing scenarios that have been discussed recently and our hopes for how the Blue Jays will handle the looming trade deadline.

We hope the Blue Jays continue to take advantage of sellable pitchers

Now that relief pitcher Yimi García is the first domino to fall, after being dealt to the Seattle Mariners on Friday, we hope that the Blue Jays continue moving out veteran arms on expiring contracts. Atkins and company need to take advantage of the pieces that they can move, including starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi and perhaps even reliever Trevor Richards.

The 33-year-old Kikuchi is at the end of his tumultuous three-year deal and is all but gone. He has been mentioned as a popular trade chip among starting pitchers on the market. Despite his 4.75 ERA, his 10.12 K/9 and career-best 2.33 BB/9 should be enough to make contenders want to add him to the back end of their rotations.

MLB.com's Keegan Matheson provided a blueprint for possible returns in a Kikuchi trade. He puts the ceiling at a couple of top-20 Triple-A prospects and a Single-A pitcher like the St. Louis Cardinals got from the Baltimore Orioles for Jack Flaherty at last year's deadline.

The floor for Kikuchi, he says, looks more like the Los Angeles Dodgers' acquisition of Ryan Yarbrough from the Kansas City Royals. They gave up their No. 29 prospect and a Rookie-ball infielder in that one.

As for Richards, despite his recent problems in July — in which he has a 16.20 ERA in nine appearances — he will still have some value after his performance over the first three months of the season. In 42 innings through the end of June, the 31-year-old right-hander posted a 2.57 ERA and 0.86 WHIP, which were comparable to García's season numbers with Toronto.

Based on what the Royals gave up in their recent trade for Washington Nationals reliever Hunter Harvey — their No. 2 prospect and the 39th overall pick in the recent MLB Draft — the Blue Jays would be foolish not to find a suitor for their 33-year-old right-hander. Even with Richards not having the extra year of control that Havery has, he was having a much better season until recently, and Toronto should continue to capitalize on the lucrative reliever market.

We hope Kevin Gausman doesn't get traded

This one recently popped up as a possibility, courtesy of Bob Nightengale of USA Today, who says that the Blue Jays could entertain offers for starter Kevin Gausman.

The Blue Jays would be crazy to trade Gausman though, right? If they want to contend next year, then yes, they would be crazy to trade the 33-year-old right-hander. There's no denying that his two remaining years of team control would make him a valuable trade chip right now. But his value might be higher next year if he bounces back from his shockingly rough 2024 campaign and regresses closer to his previous form.

After his Cy Young-worthy 2023, nobody could have seen this season coming from Gausman. His 4.55 ERA and 1.30 WHIP are not the numbers we thought we'd see this year. His 22.9 percent strikeout rate is the lowest he has posted since 2018, while his 26.4 percent CSW (called plus swinging strike rate) is his worst since his second season in the majors.

Just because he has had a down year, we don't want to see him head out the door at the deadline. Even though the Blue Jays have all but said they won't be trading players with term left on their contract, that doesn't mean that contending teams won't still try to pry the two-time All-Star away from Toronto.

We'd love to see Gausman stick around, at least for one more season, and get a chance to redeem himself next year.