5 bold Blue Jays predictions for the MLB trade deadline

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With their recent winning ways, the Toronto Blue Jays have put themselves in a firm position to contend for the playoffs heading towards the final two months of the season. In doing so, many believe that the Jays will be quite active at the trade deadline, looking to make some upgrades for the team. However, there have been a few that believe with their recent solid stretch of decent offence, mixed with some good defence and pitching, they may not need as much changes as expected since they may just be a minor tweak or two away from the ideal roster.

Nevertheless, any team that wants to be in serious contention for a playoff spot is bound to make a move or two, partly to really bolster the roster, and partly it serves as a motivation to the team, showing that management is indeed committed into making the team competitive down the stretch.

Here, we take a look at five bold predictions on what the Jays will do for the MLB trade deadline.

1. The Blue Jays will acquire elite closer Josh Hader from the San Diego Padres

Josh Hader has been one of the, if not the best, closers in all of baseball for the past five years, if disregarding last year’s outlier performance. With a career ERA of 2.55, WHIP of 0.93, ERA+ of 166, giving up only 104 earned runs with a staggering 615 strikeouts in just 367.1 innings pitched, he is definitely the exact definition of what a premium shutdown closer should be. Whoever can acquire his services for the stretch run will instantly morph the team into strong contention status.

That lucky team this year will be the Blue Jays. Adding Hader to their already solid bullpen makes them one of the best in the business. With the three-headed monster of Swanson, Romano, and Hader, games will practically be decided by the sixth inning if the Jays were ahead by then. He will definitely cost a lot, but the Jays are going for it this year and believe that he is truly worth the gamble.

2. The Blue Jays steer clear of big name starting pitchers and end up trading for Padres pitcher Seth Lugo instead

Despite the recent hot rumors of the Jays pursuing their former ace Marcus Stroman, along with previous projected elite targets such as Cleveland Guardians’ ace Shane Bieber and Chicago White Sox’s starter Lucas Giolito, along with the potential chance in getting in on the Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes, they consciously end up choosing the wise route with the safe option in obtaining the services of Seth Lugo of the Padres.

Lugo has put up a solid season as a starter this year, going 3-4 with a 3.78 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, giving up 29 earned runs, with 13 walks and 64 strikeouts in 69 innings of work. In addition, he has had previous MLB experience as both a starter and a reliever, so he can potentially provide some roster flexibility for the Jays if need be to use at their disposal.

The reason being is that the Jays hope for either Alek Manoah or Hyun Jin Ryu to step up in the coming weeks to lock down their spot in the starting rotation. If neither of them performs to acceptable levels, Lugo will instantly slot in as the fifth starter in the rotation and continue without missing a beat. If Manoah or Ryu ends up excelling and grabs a spot, Lugo can transition into the reliever role in which he has performed admirably in his previous five years and help strengthen the back end of the bullpen. So Lugo provides the flexibility for the Jays to adjust their roster to be at its best state as possible, while at the same time, it probably won’t cost the Jays a lot to acquire Lugo, leaving them with valuable assets to address another need at the deadline

3. The Blue Jays get their power bat in Cody Bellinger of the Chicago Cubs

In the quest to bring a much-needed power, run-producing bat to the ballclub for the stretch run, the Jays do end up dealing with the Chicago Cubs, but the acquisition isn’t Stroman, but instead former NL MVP Cody Bellinger. Bellinger has been a revelation this year after signing a one-year “show-me” deal with the Cubs for 2023. For the season, Bellinger has amassed a strong .305 batting average, to go along with an .884 OPS, 137 OPS+, with 49 runs scored, 12 home runs, 35 RBI, 12 stolen bases, 21 walks and 46 strikeouts in just 62 games played. These numbers were similar to his output during his early productive years with the Los Angeles Dodgers before he started his decline in 2020.

With that kind of production, it is exactly what the Jays need to boost their offence to the next level as they head into the final two months of the season. Not to forget, Bellinger is also a former Gold Glove winner, with 21 DRS in 2019 playing in the outfield that year, so he can provide some solid defence as well too. With the Jays, Bellinger will slot in interchangeably in the outfield and DH spots, as manager John Schneider will enjoy some fun and flexibility for the rest of the season for his everyday lineup. It may be too much of a good thing with the overflow of elite players on the roster, but that is a good problem to have.

4. The Blue Jays will include top prospects Brandon Barriera and Yosver Zulueta in trades to address needs

Despite the fact that the Jays pitching depth in the minors in already quite thin, in particular starting pitching, the Jays are forced to give value to get value in their trades, and decide to part ways with both Brandon Barriera and Yosver Zulueta in big deals. Barriera was the Jays first-round draft pick from the 2022 MLB Draft, and is currently ranked second on the Jays’ MLB Top Prospects list. Zulueta, on the other hand, is one of the Jays most MLB-ready prospects, once he can get more consistency in his command.

Both Barriera and Zulueta are bound to have a bright future in the majors eventually, but with the Jays in win-now mode, they must make the harsh decision now and offer them up as the assets in exchange for the MLB-ready pieces they need now. In doing so, the Jays will look to recoup back some prospect capital by trading away some roster players that have unfortunately been pushed out due to the numbers game below. At least the Jays manage to retain their top prospect in Ricky Tiedemann, and their most MLB-ready power bat in Orelvis Martinez to save something left for the future.

5. The Blue Jays trade away Santiago Espinal and Mitch White for prospects

With the influx of new players to the Jays roster, both Santiago Espinal and Mitch White unfortunately get the short end of the stick, and end up being traded away for minor league prospects to help make up for some of the ones lost from the major trades previously addressed. Despite an All-Star season last year for Espinal, he has unfortunately had a dismal 2023 year and has fallen out of favor to the rejuvenated Whit Merrifield for the team’s starting job at second base. Perhaps a fresh start with a new club is exactly what Espinal needs to kickstart his career once again.

For the case of White, most will always remember him as the one we gave up promising pitching prospect Nick Frasso for. Unfortunately for White, he has struggled ever since joining the ballclub after the deadline last year. He was provided the opportunity for redemption this year; however, an early Spring Training injury added on to his offseason injury delayed his season debut until early June, and results has been just as disappointing. For the 2023 season, White sports a gaudy 7.30 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, giving up 10 earned runs, seven walks and 13 strikeouts over 12.1 innings pitched. His ineffectiveness has left the Jays no choice but to trade him to replenish assets in their minor league system.

Hopefully, some, if not all, of these bold predictions come to fruition, and help the Jays successfully get into the postseason for the second consecutive year. Moreover, they better go beyond the one series this time with all of what have been invested to get there.

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