5 bold Blue Jays predictions for the MLB trade deadline

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.