Blue Jays 2023 trade deadline retrospective: Were the deals worth it?

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With the 2024 MLB trade deadline gradually approaching in a little less than two months away, the Toronto Blue Jays will likely be a major part of the action once again this year. However, one unknown aspect of it will be are they deadline buyers or sellers this time around?

With that tough decision still up in the air, let’s revisit the bold trade deadline moves that the Jays made from 2023 and how they have ultimately impacted the teams and players involved.

Blue Jays trade catcher Sammy Hernandez to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Génesis Cabrera.

In need of some bullpen help, the Jays acquired the once-promising reliever Génesis Cabrera after he was designated for assignment by the Cardinals. In getting Cabrera, the Jays added a second lefty to their relief corps alongside Tim Mayza, along with some boost in firepower to their back end of the bullpen.

Cabrera was solid for the Jays down the stretch in 2023, going 1-0 with a 2.66 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, together with 20 strikeouts in 23.2 innings pitched in 29 appearances. However, this season has been a completely different story as Cabrera has struggled with his command, posting a 2-2 record with an ugly 5.48 ERA and 1.78 WHIP, giving up 14 earned runs, 13 walks and 15 strikeouts in just 23 innings of work.

For Sammy Hernandez, he has flourished since moving to the Cardinals’ organization. This season with their Single-A affiliate Palm Beach, Hernandez has hit a solid .313 with an .816 OPS, along with 11 doubles and 20 RBI in 39 games. He has also improved his plate discipline, reducing his 2.5:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio from last season down to about 1.5:1 this year.

Who is the winner?

The Jays would clearly be the winners as of last season, as Cabrera helped stabilize the bullpen and ultimately played a key role in taking the team to the playoffs. However, with his stark regression this season, along with the improved play of Hernandez (even though it was just Single-A), if Cabrera is unable to rediscover his game, it could slowly tilt towards the Cardinals’ favor in the long run.

Blue Jays trade pitcher Matt Svanson to the Cardinals for shortstop Paul DeJong.

Everyone will certainly remember this trade, but perhaps for all the wrong reasons. At the time, the acquisition of Paul DeJong was necessitated by the injury to star shortstop Bo Bichette just prior to the trade deadline. Given DeJong’s solid track record and veteran leadership, he was expected to be a viable replacement for Bichette until his return from the IL.

However, DeJong was a total disaster in what turned out to be a surprisingly short tenure with the Jays. In 13 games, he went a dreadful 3-for-44 for a .068 batting average with just one RBI and 18 strikeouts. In doing so, it forced the Jays to get Bichette back sooner than expected as they eventually designated DeJong for assignment. The early return from injury by Bichette might have resulted in indirectly affecting his performance down the stretch last season, and perhaps it has lingered into this season as well given his poor performance to date.

As for Matt Svanson, he has done a decent job with the Cardinals’ Double-A affiliate Springfield this season, posting a 3.49 ERA and 1.55 WHIP with 30 strikeouts in 28.1 innings pitched over 22 relief appearances. He could potentially be a useful bullpen piece for the Cardinals down the road. In the case for DeJong, he has moved on to the Chicago White Sox this season and has reverted to some degree to his productive ways, tallying 10 home runs and 21 RBI while sporting a .222 average in 57 games to date.

Who is the winner?

Any time a player only puts up one measly RBI and three hits as his main stats line for his entire tenure with a club, there’s no way that club would come out as a winner in any scenario. As a result, the Jays lost big time in that trade. The winners are both the Cardinals, who may now have a useful piece for their future, and the White Sox, who has DeJong effectively producing in various spots of their batting order this season.

Blue Jays trade pitchers Sem Robberse and Adam Kloffenstein to the Cardinals for pitcher Jordan Hicks.

For their biggest splash at the 2023 trade deadline, the Jays brought in hard-throwing right-handed reliever Jordan Hicks to help solidify the back end of their bullpen. Hicks delivered as expected, as he displayed his mastery over opposing hitters while posting a stellar 2.63 ERA and 1.08 WHIP with 22 strikeouts in 24 innings of work. However, he never really got the opportunity to shine for the Jays in the postseason as they suffered an early exit at the hands of the Minnesota Twins.

Hicks would ultimately leave the organization and head into free agency where he signed on with the San Francisco Giants with the opportunity to become a starter once again. As a starter, Hicks has held his own so far in 2024 with the Giants, amassing a 4-2 record with a stellar 2.82 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 13 starts.

Currently ranked 12th and 15th respectively in the Cardinals organization top prospects list according to MLB Pipeline, both Sem Robberse and Adam Kloffenstein have developed into key arms in their minor league system. Robberse had put together a solid season so far with the Cardinals’ Triple-A affiliate Memphis Redbirds prior to Thursday’s start, posting a 3.53 ERA and 1.09 WHIP with 65 strikeouts in 66.1 innings pitched. Kloffenstein also has strung together a decent year with Memphis, compiling a 4.50 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 12 starts.

Who is the winner?

If the Jays had retained Hicks for the 2024 season, then the trade would probably feel more evened out. However, the departure of Hicks had left a huge hole in the Jays’ bullpen for 2024. Together with the progression of both Robberse and Kloffenstein, who could soon be seeing some big league action, the winners here are obviously the Cardinals, as well as Hicks for getting his wish and being successful as a starter once again.

So overall, one has to agree that the moves that the Jays made at last year’s deadline did have an impact on their playoff run last season with the solid performances of Cabrera and Hicks. However, the overall value of the moves have since become negligible with Cabrera struggling this season and Hicks and DeJong moving on and excelling with other teams. With the prospects that they gave up doing well so far in 2024, in retrospect, the trade deadline by the Jays in 2023 is turning out to be a regrettable failure to say the least.

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