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3 players the Blue Jays will regret holding onto at the trade deadline

By Zane Cherniak |
Tampa Bay Rays v Toronto Blue Jays
Tampa Bay Rays v Toronto Blue Jays / Vaughn Ridley/GettyImages
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It's been a little over a week since the trade deadline, where the Toronto Blue Jays managed to sell off all of their rental players. The trade market proved to be more enticing for selling teams than what was even expected, and the Blue Jays were able to revamp their farm system, while keeping all of the core players.

Players Brought In

Players Sent Out

RJ Shreck (#30 MLB Pipeline)

Justin Turner

Jake Bloss (#3), Joey Loperfido, Will Wagner (#22)

Yusei Kikuchi

Jonatan Clase (#8), Jacob Sharp

Yimi Garcia

Charles McAdoo (#14)

Isiah Kiner-Falefa

Ryan Yarbrough

Kevin Kiermaier

Cutter Coffey (#29), Eddison Paulino (#21), Gilberto Bautista (UR)

Danny Jansen

Yohendrick Pinago,(#27) Josh Rivera (UR)

Nate Pearson

Jay Harry (UR)

Trevor Richards

This was an encouraging deadline for the Blue Jays in terms of getting the proper returns for this player, but is it possible they didn't cash in on as much as they could have? The Jays still had several trade candidates that did not get moved, and that doesn't even include the big names of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. In the landscape of a very heavy sellers market, these are the three players the Jays may regret holding onto the most.

Chad Green

Chad Green has been the saving grace of this Blue Jays bullpen. With the removal of Yimi Garcia and Trevor Richards, Green is the only Blue Jays reliever to post an fWAR over 0.0. He's managed to be incredibly effective in his appearances, both as a closer and any other role the Jays put him in. He's certainly been an effective reliever this year, but the real question that comes into play is his contract. Green's club option was accepted in the off-season, so he will be paid $10.5M in 2025.

If the Jays are looking to contend again in 2025, they'll certainly need an improved bullpen. However at the salary he's being paid for next year, it's just as possible to reallocated that money into a couple of effective relievers, which the Jays will desperately need, as their bullpen ranks 30th in fWAR this season (-1.6). Judging by the market for relievers this trade deadline, Green could have gotten the Jays a better return, over what he could potentially offer.

Chris Bassitt

Bassitt has continued to be a bright spot for the Blue Jays. He's embraced the city beautifully, has been a part of several charity events, and has been very outspoken during his time with the organization. Amidst all of that, he's having another strong season. The 35-year-old currently has a 3.95 ERA and 3.95 FIP alike, over 130.0 innings pitched.

Bassitt has been one of the most effective players over the past two seasons. So why should the Blue Jays have entertained the idea of moving him at the deadline? The market for SP was at an all time high this season, in comparison to prior years. The Blue Jays had already capitalized on trading Yusei Kikuchi for a massive return in Jake Bloss, Joey Loperfido, and Will Wagner. The Miami Marlins acquired two prized prospects in Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers for Trevor Rogers, who has a 4.76 ERA this season.

Bassitt is not only a durable, consistent pitcher, but has another year of control, rather than expiring at the end of the season. Lots of contenders would have taken interest in Bassitt, but his name was evidently not thrown around to much in trade discussions for the Jays.

It can be argued that the best course of action is the hold onto Bassitt, because he currently stands as the most reliable pitcher to make starts in 2025. It's rather unlikely that he would be moved at the deadline, so the opportunity was missed to see him flipped on another team until at least next trade deadline.

Kevin Gausman

This is the trickiest one. Kevin Gausman has been one of the most successful free agent signings that the Jays have had. His first 2 seasons with the Jays were among some of the better seasons the Blue Jays have had from a starting pitcher. Despite him having a down season in 2024, (89 ERA+) he is still a steady veteran would improve a team's chances of winning. His value may have dropped, but not enough to the point where other teams would not have any interest in him.

Gausman still has two years and $46M left on his contract after this season, which is a hefty sum to pay, in what's been a relatively expensive rotation for the Jays. While there's still hope for Gausman resurging in future seasons, it may not be enough to justify the price being paid, especially in the position the Blue Jays find themselves in. They have the potential to be contenders next season, but a lot still needs to go right for that to be remotely possible.

Gausman could be a part of that, or the Jays could have used their window to unload him, as they try a more proper re-tool. Now that the deadline is over, and all of these players remain, time will tell how impactful that will play into their future season. Moves were made, and the Blue Jays have to hope it was enough.

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