5 Blue Jays who aren't as safe as they think with trade deadline approaching

The 2024 MLB Trade Deadline is just five days away and it's inevitable that the Blue Jays will be sellers given the position they find themselves in, (46-55), bottom of the AL East and nine games out of a wildcard spot. It was reported yesterday by Ben-Nicholson Smith that they're selling pending free agents such as Yusei Kikuchi and Yimi Garcia in order to be competitive again in 2025.

However, the landscape of the AL East is changing with the Orioles, Yankees and even the Red Sox improving. With that being said, these Blue Jays aren't as safe as they think with the deadline looming.

Chris Bassitt

Bassitt has been a bright spark in a poor season for the Blue Jays. The 35-year-old is in the middle of his three-year, $63M and owns a very respectable 3.78 ERA across 21 starts. A few days ago, Jon Morosi stated that the Blue Jays would consider trades for players who are under control beyond this season . He also mentioned that there were a 'strong contingent of scouts' who watched Bassitt's last start against the Tigers.

If the Blue Jays were willing to offload Bassitt his best fits include: the Astros, who lost Cristian Javier and José Urquidy to Tommy John earlier this season, the Guardians, who'll need a starter with postseason experience and the Orioles, who recently lost John Means and Kyle Bradish. The Orioles who have a top five farm system are even considering moving Cedric Mullins and Ryan Mountcastle. The Blue Jays would get a great return for Bassitt, even so trades between divisional rivals don't occur that often.

Bo Bichette

Toronto's star shortstop is currently on the 10-day injured list with a right calf strain which he re-aggravated during last Friday's defeat by the Detroit Tigers. Therefore it'd be even harder to trade him at this point. He is in the midst of a career-worst season batting .223, with 4 HR, 30 RBI and a .597 OPS in 79 games.

According to Bob Nightengale from USA today, Bichette told friends that 'he'd welcome a trade' which sparked uproar amongst the fanbase. As a result of this, the Dodgers have been heavily rumored with him in recent weeks. Trading for Bichette would allow them to move Miguel Rojas into a utility role and the Blue Jays could get a fantastic return. Other potential landing spots include: the Mariners seeing as they've just lost J.P Crawford with a fractured finger and the Braves who lost Ozzie Albies with a fractured left wrist.

Kevin Gausman

Toronto's ace, who is in the middle of a five-year, $110M contract has also struggled this season. Gausman's posted a 4.55 ERA through 20 starts and to make matters worse, his strikeouts are down, his velocity has decreased and he's given up more home runs. On the other hand, he did throw his first career complete game shoutout against Oakland earlier this season.

At this stage it's unlikely the Blue Jays sell Gausman, seeing as they'll want to be competitive next year but a trade shouldn't be ruled out completely. Some teams, who are in postseason contention have lost key starters to injuries and Gausman would be a great fit, who carries plenty of postseason experience. These teams include: the Braves, who lost Spencer Strider and Max Fried, the Brewers, who lost Brandon Woodruff to Tommy John and the Cardinals with their aging rotation.