3 biggest swings and misses the Blue Jays made at the trade deadline

For the Toronto Blue Jays to become perennial playoff contenders, part of the strategy should involve utilizing the trade deadline as an invaluable opportunity to upgrade the ballclub in areas that they are deficient in, along with possibly strengthening areas they are strong to begin with already to make them a greater force to be reckoned with. As a result, it is an important message not only to the players, but also to the fanbase as well, letting them know that they are committed in producing a winning product both on and off the field, and to instil player confidence and motivation, leading to hopefully much success and valued accomplishments.

For the 2023 MLB trade deadline, the Jays had the opportunity to put a statement on their season by addressing some of their main needs to round out the ballclub for the stretch run. They did well in addressing their bullpen needs, as they acquired reliever Génesis Cabrera to add a second lefty to their bullpen, along with getting hard-throwing closer Jordan Hicks to solidify the back end of the bullpen, which came at a key time with current Jays’ closer Jordan Romano on the IL. With the solid additions, along with the inevitable activation of Chad Green off the IL and subsequently Trevor Richards and Romano later on as well, they appear to be all set with regards to their relief corps heading into the final two months of the season.

On top of that, they also managed to reel in Paul DeJong to serve as Bo Bichette’s replacement while he is out with his knee injury, and to serve as infield depth and a useful bat off the bench when Bichette returns.

However, the Blue Jays sure “swung and miss” big time with regards to other areas that needed to be addressed or that would have made quite the impact if their pursuit came to fruition. Here, we take a look at the three biggest failures in terms of what the Jays should have accomplished at the trade deadline that could possibly affect their ultimate playoff chances by the end of the season.