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

The Jays did not go out to land a “big fish” to inspire the ballclub for a long postseason run

Finally, sometimes making a big splash at the trade deadline doesn’t necessary have to address a very specific need, but rather doing something that could suddenly boost a team’s confidence and motivation can be equally as important in helping a team to success heading into the stretch run. One could recall back in 2015, when former Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos did the unthinkable and somehow managed to acquire both big-time starter David Price and superstar shortstop Troy Tulowitzki at the trade deadline. At the time, the Jays were just chugging along close to a .500 record, but had a slight feeling that if they got some difference makers, it would be enough to put them over the top.

Sure enough, after the additions, fans flooded the stands to provide strong support to their revitalized ballclub, as the Jays surged to new heights in the final three months of the season and made the playoffs without a doubt in the end. So if the Jays could manage to land a ‘big fish’ this time around, perhaps a similar effect could be recreated once again, this time in 2023. However, while watching the Texas Rangers grab three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer, and the Houston Astros bringing back their very own three-time Cy Young winner in Justin Verlander and suddenly making them favourites to win it all in the AL side of things, the Jays once again failed to pull the trigger.

If they did even something that would have produced some kind of ‘wow’ factor, like bringing back Marcus Stroman to fire up the Jays’ crowd and ballclub in more ways than one, it could perhaps have given the team the big spark needed to get them going, along with making them truly believe in themselves that they can get the job done for the playoff run with the added jolt of confidence, but to no avail.

Hopefully, the semi-impactful additions the Jays made at the deadline were enough to at least make them contenders for the playoffs despite the ‘swing and misses’, but whether or not it is enough for them to get to the World Series will now most likely depend on the ‘will’ and ‘fight’ of the team as it is currently constructed.