6 past trade deadline acquisitions that helped the Blue Jays make the playoffs

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Currently, the Toronto Blue Jays are fighting for their lives for the third and final Wild Card spot in the American League. As they look to strengthen their position in the coming weeks, many may look back to how their work at the trade deadline has impacted the team up until now and if the recruited players will make a difference in their quest to the playoffs.

So far, the acquisition of Paul DeJong has been quite disappointing, as other than some steady defence, he hasn’t really gotten it going at the plate, with only three hits in 44 at-bats in total. Unfortunately for DeJong, things have gotten worse as he has been designated for assignment recently with the activation of Bo Bichette off the IL. On the other hand, the acquisitions of both Jordan Hicks and Génesis Cabrera have been quite solid thus far for the Jays.

For Hicks, other than his rough debut with the Jays following the trade deadline, he has been generally solid, whether he was the setup man or the closer. In the eight games following his debut, he has gone 1-2 with three saves and two holds, along with a 2.57 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and eight strikeouts in seven innings pitched. More importantly, when he is on his game with his blazing fastball, he can mow down the hitters at the plate with ease.

Even more surprising has been the work of Cabrera and what he has accomplished so far with the Jays. After beginning the year with the St. Louis Cardinals and struggling for much of the 2023 season, he has been absolutely dynamite for the Jays since joining the team back in July. In 13 appearances, he has posted a 1-0 record, with a 0.00 ERA, 0.49 WHIP, giving up only three unearned runs, two walks and 10 strikeouts over 12.1 innings of work.

Both additions have definitely bolstered the Jays’ bullpen tremendously, as they look to be potential difference makers for the ballclub down the stretch. With that, we will take a look at some of the past trade deadline acquisitions made by the Blue Jays that ended up paying huge dividends for them that resulted in a playoff berth by the end of the season. Here, we sincerely hope that the acquisitions made by the Jays this year could produce some similar results as seen in the past.

Mookie Wilson (1989)

For the 1989 season, the Blue Jays fielded an outfield that consisted of veterans George Bell and Lloyd Moseby, along with rookie Junior Félix at the time. Worrying that Félix may perhaps be lacking the required experience to handle the duties down the stretch, the Jays elected to get some much needed outfield depth at the trade deadline by adding one of New York Mets’ most iconic players in Mookie Wilson.

Wilson had been struggling for much of the season in 1989 with the Mets, but given his successful track record in the past and the potential impact he could provide, the Jays believed he could be a strong contributor in the final couple of months of the season if given the opportunity to play for a contending team once again. Indeed, Wilson played a key role down the stretch as he regained his hitting mojo with the ballclub following the trade, along with quickly becoming a fan favourite as appreciating chants of “Mooooooookie” occurred whenever he stepped to the plate.

In 54 games with the Jays, Wilson compiled a .298 batting average with 32 runs scored, nine doubles, two home runs, 17 RBI, and 12 stolen bases, as he practically matched or surpassed most of his accumulated totals that year with the Mets in 26 less games played. In doing so, he eventually pushed Félix out of a starting role in September while he continued his success, as he ultimately scored the winning run that enabled the Jays to clinch the AL East division title and reach the postseason for the second time in team history.

Candy Maldonado (1991)

Back in 1991, the Blue Jays had a strong defensive outfield that consisted of seven-time Gold Glove winner Devon White in centre field and the power throwing Joe Carter in right field. However, left field remained a question mark as they utilized a revolving door of players featuring the likes of Glenallen Hill, Rob Ducey, and the now-struggling Mookie Wilson. Both White and Carter provided strong contributions both at the plate and on the field, but left field remained a black hole for the ballclub, as the team wasn’t getting much production out of the position.

Consequently, the Jays went out to grab a power-hitting, run-producing leftfielder in Candy Maldonado from the Milwaukee Brewers at the trade deadline. After all, he had reached double-digit home runs in four of the previous five seasons, along with averaging close to more than 70 RBI per season during the same time frame.

Following the arrival of Maldonado, he took the leftfielder job and ran with it as he provided the ballclub with the necessary offensive boost in the final few weeks of the season. In 52 games, Maldonado hit a respectable .277 with an .821 OPS, with 26 runs scored, nine doubles, seven home runs, 28 RBI and three stolen bases to top it off. In doing so, he helped stabilize the offensive output batting from the middle part of the order as they secured the division title and subsequent playoff berth.

Tony Fernández (1993)

After trading Tony Fernández along with Fred McGriff in the 1990 offseason blockbuster that brought in Joe Carter and Roberto Alomar, the Jays never really had an adequate replacement at the shortstop position for the next few years. They desperately tried the likes of Manuel Lee, Rene Gonzales, Alfredo Griffin and Dick Schofield, but none of them provided the steady mix of stellar defence and solid offence that Fernández consistently gave to the team.

As a result, Fernández was reacquired from the New York Mets to help revamp the team’s infield defence, along with reinserting Fernandez’s consistent bat into their everyday lineup. This actually happened a little before the trade deadline, but because this critical move by the Jays led to drastic improvements in an area that they were severely lacking, it certainly felt like a deadline-altering move by the ballclub.

With the return of Fernández, Jays’ fans were all excited to see his swift-throwing steady defence once again, as he committed only seven errors the rest of the way for a .985 fielding percentage. Not only that, he helped contribute offensively as well, chipping in with 45 runs scored, 18 doubles, nine triples, four home runs, 50 RBI, 15 stolen bases, 31 walks and just 26 strikeouts, all while batting a solid .306 with an .803 OPS. In doing so, the Jays were able to make the postseason for the third consecutive year and ultimately the World Series for a second straight year.

Unfortunately after that year, it would take more than two decades later before the Jays acquired any player of significance that actually helped them reach the playoffs once again.

David Price (2015)

At last in 2015, despite the Blue Jays fielding one of their more stronger lineups in recent memory with the likes of José Bautista, Josh Donaldson, and Edwin Encarnación, they had somehow underachieved for most of the year. As they headed towards the second half of the season sitting near a .500 record, but with the playoff spots still within reach, the Jays desperately needed a jolt to get them to the next level.

They certainly got it when Jays’ GM Alex Anthopoulos decided to practically empty the farm system to get the necessary pieces to convert them into a contender. One of the biggest acquisitions that took place involved getting five-time All-Star and AL Cy Young winner David Price from the Detroit Tigers. At the time, the Jays’ starting rotation was led by former NL Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey, along with veteran Mark Buehrle, but neither were close to the dominance that Price could provide to the team. With Price entering the picture, he became the ace of the pitching staff going forward, and he definitely proved his worth.

Price almost single-handedly took the Jays into the postseason, as he would go on to post an astounding 9-1 winning record, with a 2.30 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, while walking only 18 and striking out 87 in 74.1 innings of work. He would lead the Jays in going 40-18 down the stretch and finished atop the AL East standings with a 93-69 record.

Emptying the prospects cupboard to have a shot at championship glory is one thing, but having the daring gamble come through successfully is another. In this case, the Jays certainly won big time with this bet, as they most definitely would not have made it without the elite performance of Price.

Ben Revere (2015)

At the same time when the Jays added Price to their pitching staff, they still had a glaring hole within their lineup in that they did not possess a traditional leadoff hitter who boasts a high on-base percentage, along with the speed to be able to swipe some bases to help set up runs. That was not until Anthopoulos pulled his magic again and went out to get that prototypical leadoff hitter in Ben Revere from the Philadelphia Phillies.

For his career, Revere was never really a player that worked for a lot of walks, but he was a great contact hitter and got on base frequently due to his high batting average. In his eight seasons in the MLB, Revere tallied a .284 batting average and a .319 on-base percentage. He even led the NL in hits during the prior season in 2014 with 184, so the Jays believed he could be the ideal leadoff hitter to help set the table for their lethal lineup. In addition, Revere averaged close to 30 stolen bases each year in his career, so that would come in handy when the big boys came up behind him in the batting order.

At first, the Jays eased Revere in as he acclimatized with his new team by batting him at the bottom of the order. Eventually, he was moved into his familiar leadoff position where things took off from there. In the end, Revere certainly did his job, as he hit .319 with a .354 OBP, scoring 35 runs, with nine doubles, one home run, 19 RBI and seven stolen bases in 56 games played. His inclusion gave just the right balance to the Jays’ overall offensive lineup, and in doing so, helped power the offence down the stretch that ended with a well-earned postseason berth.

Joaquin Benoit (2016)

In 2016, as the Jays were looking to make the postseason in consecutive years for the first time since the early 1990s, one of their main Achilles heel that year was the inconsistency of their bullpen. Other than closer Roberto Osuna and fellow relievers Joe Biagini and Brett Cecil, no one else they deployed that year gave them much confidence the moment they stepped onto the field, with most of them sporting ERAs over four. As a result, the Jays were desperate in getting some valuable arms to bolster their bullpen for the stretch run.

One of their targets ended up being Joaquin Benoit, who was struggling mightily for the Seattle Mariners that year, pitching to an ERA above five. For someone that had been consistently solid in his previous six-year span between 2010-2015, the Jays were willing to take the chance that a change of scenery would enable him to regain his form once again. In return, the Jays sent the Mariners their own struggling reliever in Drew Storen, so if it didn’t end up working out, at least it would feel the trade was even.

But boy, did the Jays ever win that trade in a landslide, as Benoit would go on the best stretch of his career with his new ballclub. In 25 games, he posted an unbelievable 0.38 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, along with 10 holds, all while giving up only one run with nine walks and 24 strikeouts in 23.2 innings of work. Unfortunately for both Benoit and the Blue Jays, he would suffer a season-ending injury when he tore his calf running in from the bullpen during a bench-clearing brawl between the Jays and the New York Yankees in the final week of the regular season.

Who knows if Benoit’s dominance could have taken the Jays beyond the ALCS in the end if he stayed healthy, but one thing was for sure, at least he did his part down the stretch to get the Jays enough wins to get to the Wild Card game with his improbable performance.

Honourable Mentions: David Cone (1992), Rickey Henderson (1993), Troy Tulowitzki (2015), Francisco Liriano (2016)

There is a quartet of additional notable players that deserve an honourable mention on this list. In 1992, a key transaction actually took place after the standard MLB trade deadline, as the Jays acquired the services of future Cy Young winner David Cone from the Mets prior to the waiver trade deadline at the end of August. Cone would go on to post a solid 4-3 record with a 2.55 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, with 47 strikeouts over 53 innings pitched. Despite appearing in only eight games down the stretch due to the late acquisition, he managed to help the Jays reach the postseason for the third time in four years, and ultimately to their first World Series. Despite the trade-off being future superstar in the making Jeff Kent, along with just an average performance by Cone during the postseason, many of the Jays’ faithful still believed the deal was worth it as it brought them their first ever championship.

In 1993, the addition of Rickey Henderson helped the Jays take full control of the basepaths as Henderson scored 37 runs and swiped 22 bags in the 44 games he played down the stretch. However, his .215 average along with his paltry offensive output of four home runs and 12 RBI left a lot to be desired, as he had shown in the past to be way more productive than that. Nevertheless, Jays’ fans will always remember him help setting up and scoring on Carter’s historic home run to win the 1993 World Series.

In 2015, in addition to both Price and Revere, the Jays also went out to land the big fish in Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies as a part of Anthopoulos’ big push for the playoffs. Tulowitzki definitely helped stabilize the Jays defence at the shortstop position down the stretch, but he struggled quite a bit from the offensive side of things after leaving the hitting haven in Colorado. They would also find out later that he tends to be injury-prone, as it eventually took its toll on him and wore down his effectiveness in the long run. Nevertheless, he did end up doing his job in getting the Jays into the playoffs.

Finally, in 2016, Francisco Liriano turned out to be another key deadline acquisition that helped the Jays reach the postseason. After joining the Jays, Liriano joined their starting rotation and delivered quality starts in six of the eight games he started, going 2-2 with a 2.92 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, giving up 16 earned runs with 16 walks and 52 strikeouts in 49.1 innings pitched. They even utilized Liriano out of the bullpen a couple of times to acquaint him with the role in the event they made the postseason and planned to use him out of the pen, showing his added flexibility. Unfortunately in the end, he wasn’t utilized much during the postseason, but he certainly did his part in the regular season to get the Jays there.

We certainly hope that the 2023 trade deadline acquisitions can do the same and become a part of Jays’ history like the aforementioned players by helping the team once again get into the postseason and beyond.

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