4 perfect trade partners for the Blue Jays to fix infield logjam

San Francisco Giants

Another team that the Jays can engage in some trade talks with include the Giants. Long-time shortstop Brandon Crawford entered free agency following the 2023 season, leaving a gaping hole at the position. Crawford was a three-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner during his 13-year tenure with the Giants. Up until 2023, he had spent his entire career with the team that drafted him. However, his numbers had declined drastically in the past couple of seasons, including posting some mediocre stats in 2023 when he hit just .194 with a .587 OPS, 63 OPS+, along with just 7 home runs and 38 RBI in 93 games played.

For the Jays, they have an assortment of infielders that specialize in various skills and abilities, whether it be hitting (Horwitz), power (Schneider, Biggio), or defense (Espinal). Given defense had been an area of concern for the Giants the past couple of years, getting someone like Espinal, who has the potential to develop into the next Crawford, makes the most sense. Going the other way, the Jays could look for insurance depth for their outfield, given the wavering health of both Kevin Kiermaier and George Springer. Since the Giants now have an excess of outfielders after signing Jorge Soler, someone like an Austin Slater or Mike Yastrzemski could fit the bill.

Cleveland Guardians

For a team that had been perennial contenders prior to the 2023 season, the Guardians turned out to be a huge disappointment last year as they finished with a 76-86 record and third place in the AL Central Division. Despite being led by the star power of five-time All-Star José Ramírez, former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber and one of the best closers in the game in Emmanuel Clase, they still ended up finishing in their worst position in the standings in nearly 10 years. As they look to retool their roster to get back to their winning ways in 2024, their roster significantly lacks a solid shortstop that could line up well with Ramírez, Josh Naylor and Andrés Giménez.

That is where the Jays can come in, with quality options in Clement and Espinal, along with the possibility of young promising prospects in Barger and Leo Jimenez. In exchange, the Jays can tap into some of the Guardians’ strength in solid pitching arms, with the outside shot of landing some premium budding talent such as a Tanner Bibee, or perhaps maybe even a Shane Bieber following his subpar season last year. Or they could go all out and try for Clase and form an unstoppable back end bullpen duo with Jordan Romano.

Milwaukee Brewers

Finally, for one of the more surprising teams in the league. Despite the Brewers’ recent track record of having great success during the regular season for five of the past six years, they appear to be headed towards an unexpected rebuild following the exodus of key players this offseason.

In particular, they traded away their ace Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles, and lost the likes of Victor Caratini, Rowdy Tellez and Brian Anderson to free agency. They had also even non-tendered front-end starter Brandon Woodruff, before they doubled back and brought him back on a two-year deal. The Brewers’ likely plan was to hope that when he returns from his injury in 2025, they will be ready to compete again after a short rebuild.

With just Willy Adames and newly-signed Rhys Hoskins left to anchor the Brewers’ infield in the coming year, they need considerable help with both their second and third base positions if they intend to at least be a passable competitive team in 2024.

The Jays have the excess bodies in those positions and could lend a hand in helping the Brewers out to fill that void. Among the players that could be of interest for the Jays, we had once before brought up the idea of acquiring former MVP Christian Yelich to bolster their lineup. In addition, the highly-underrated Devin Williams could be one of the best closers in all of baseball, but has been often overshadowed by the likes of Josh Hader in the past few years. Also, if the Brewers go into full strip-down mode for their rebuild, Adames would be a great option for the Jays even with their infield logjam, since he would be a significant upgrade from what they have in place at third.

In terms of the likelihood of players that the Jays would put on the trade block, Espinal is the leading candidate to be dealt, since he will likely get the short end of the stick in terms of playing time again this season. New additions Turner and IKF won’t be going anywhere, while Biggio showed in the second half of last season that he could be a viable flex option that could play multiple positions well in the infield and outfield. If a potential deal involves recruiting a star player to the team, then the Jays would probably need to up the ante by involving Schneider, or even top prospects Barger and Martinez to get it done. Nevertheless, the excess of quality infielders is a great problem to have for the Jays, so it’s now up to them if they are able to fully take advantage of the situation.