5 rival trade rumors that could be disastrous for the Blue Jays

2. The Rays appear to have strong interest in starting pitcher Marcus Stroman of the Cubs

Sports Illustrated has recently revealed that the Rays have been linked in talks with the Cubs with regards to acquiring former Jays’ ace Marcus Stroman in a potential blockbuster deal, according to Onto Waveland Podcast with Brett Taylor, Sahadev Sharma, and Patrick Mooney. Outside of Ohtani, Stroman represents the best starting pitcher trade target available at the deadline and will no doubt be highly coveted by many teams. As a result, any finalized trade transaction involving Stroman will probably end up being a huge blockbuster deal.

Despite playing for a struggling Cubs team for the most part of the 2023 season, Stroman had been one of the few bright spots on the ballclub, along with the revitalized Cody Bellinger and fellow starter Justin Steele. In 21 games started, he has compiled a 10-7 winning record with a 3.51 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, giving up 49 earned runs with just eight home runs, with 48 walks and 109 strikeouts in 125.2 innings of work.

Adding Stroman to the Rays, who already have ace-like material in both Zach Eflin and Shane McClanahan, would instantly transform them into a strong three-headed monster in their starting rotation. Combining with the consistent Tyler Glasnow, their rotation would be set for the playoff run and would definitely be a huge gauntlet the Jays will need to run through in order for any postseason success at all.

3. The Orioles have shown interest in dealing with the Cardinals for starter Jordan Montgomery

Okay, so at least Jordan Montgomery might not be at the same tier level as Ohtani, but knowing that the Orioles are actively planning to significantly upgrade their roster while already holding the division lead presents an even greater obstacle for the Jays to try and catch them by season’s end. Sports Illustrated has indicated that The Athletic’s Jim Bowden has linked the Orioles and Cardinals as potential trade partners for the services of Montgomery.

The Orioles may not want to make available their top prospects for the trade deadline, but because they possess a deep farm system, it could be enough for them to acquire a lower-tiered, yet solid starter in Montgomery to upgrade their starting pitching. He has had a solid season so far in 2023, despite pitching for the underachieving Cardinals for much of the year. He has compiled a 6-8 record with a 3.37 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, with 105 strikeouts in 115 innings pitched over 20 games started.

More importantly, he boasts a career 4-1 winning record against the Jays, and has had some success pitching in the AL East in the past when he was with the Yankees. So bringing him back into the division he is familiar with, added to his vengeful anger when the Yankees traded him away last year at the deadline, could be bad news for the Jays as he will definitely want to show everyone what they have been missing.

4. The Yankees have been linked to Cody Bellinger of the Cubs

Once again, Sports Illustrated indicated that MLB Insider Jim Bowden had reported that the Yankees would like to improve their outfield, so someone like Cody Bellinger from the Cubs could be an ideal fit for the ballclub. After all, Bellinger is currently in the midst of a resurgent season with the Cubs, appearing to have regained some of his prior MVP form back in 2019. With the abundance of teams ahead of them in the playoff chase, the Cubs will most likely be sellers at the trade deadline and Bellinger would be one of their strongest trade chips to use at their disposal.

For the 2023 season, Bellinger has delivered an outstanding .309 batting average, along with a .890 OPS, with 53 runs scored, 15 doubles, 14 home runs, 45 RBI, and 12 stolen bases. More importantly, he has been red-hot leading up to the trade deadline, as for the month of July, he is scorching the league with a .429 average, 1.200 OPS, with 18 runs scored, seven home runs and 23 RBI in just 20 games played. He has definitely raised his stock considerably in his bounce back year and will definitely draw a lot of interest from different teams in their pursuit of a power bat.

The Blue Jays themselves would like to add a power bat of their own, and someone like Bellinger would be exactly what they are looking for. As a result, it would hurt even more if Bellinger ends up going to a division rival and ends up helping the Yankees knock off the Jays for a playoff spot at year’s end. So the Jays better pray it does not come to fruition, or better yet, make sure they jump in to get him first.

5. The Rays have expressed interest in acquiring Tigers starter Michael Lorenzen

Jon Morosi of MLB.com has reported that the Rays are one of the contending teams that have shown interest in Tigers’ pitcher Michael Lorenzen. So the Rays must be pretty desperate in getting some solid starting pitching help with all these rumors surrounded around starting pitchers. It definitely makes sense because after all, two of their key starters in Drew Rasmussen and Jeffrey Springs are apparently out for the season.

Lorenzen has been having an impressive season with the lowly Tigers ballclub, posting a 5-6 record with a 3.49 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, giving up 39 earned runs, 26 walks and 76 strikeouts in 100.2 innings of work in 17 starts. In doing so, he was selected to his first ever All-Star game this year. Lorenzen is not your typical overpowering pitcher that would strikeout a whole lot of batters, but he is good at limiting baserunners and pitches to contact as part of his strength in his game.

With respect to the Jays, Lorenzen is also a potential trade target for the team, as he would provide the necessary starting pitching depth for the ballclub, and would probably not require a whole lot of assets to get him. However, it still might not be the end of the world if the Rays do end up grabbing Lorenzen, but every little addition by the team the Jays are trying to chase down just makes the task to catch them that much harder in the coming weeks.

Hopefully, the bulk of these talks and speculations end up to be literally just “rumors”, and that the Blue Jays will make their own splash at the trade deadline to become the talk of the town. Otherwise, it is going to be a long, long, long road to glory ahead of them.