Blue Jays' rival blinks first in race to the bottom of the AL East

Perhaps the Blue Jays finishing in fifth-place in the American League East is not a guarantee after all. In a late-night swap around midnight on Thursday, the Tampa Bay Rays waved the white flag first. The club sent Randy Arozarena, the face of their franchise, to the Seattle Mariners for a pair of prospects and a player-to-be-named-later.

This is a significant move for the Rays, as they looked to be sellers but hadn't officially committed to one route over the other. Sounds an awful lot like the Blue Jays' front office.

The difference between the two is that the Rays (always) know when it's time to move on their stars. This is an organization that has moved on from Evan Longoria, Tyler Glasnow, Kevin Kiermaier (who departed in free agency and was not traded), David Price, Chris Archer and Blake Snell at the best time possible. Their front office is next to none when it comes to the overall knowledge of successfully building an organization.

Rays wave white flag, send Randy Arozarena out West

On the season, Arozarena has 15 home runs and 37 RBI through 100 games played. He's stolen 16 bags and has an OPS+ of 105 (five percent above league-average) but his strikeout rate is up to nearly 25 percent and he's currently sporting a .211 batting average.

His numbers don't look great on the surface, but the Mariners were smart to land him now, as he's been red-hot as of late. Since June 1, Arozarena has hit seven home runs and driven in 20, posting a .284 batting average and 161 wRC+. He's been absolutely on fire and it seems that a return to his career norms is right around the corner.

The Rays have more attractive trade chips in infielders Isaac Paredes and Brandon Lowe, as well as pitchers Zach Eflin, Zack Littell, Pete Fairbanks and Jason Adam. The Blue Jays have long been labeled as one of the teams to watch at this year's deadline, but they're going to get their thunder stolen by a division rival if the move to send Arozarena packing is any indicator of what's to come.

What does this trade really mean for the Blue Jays?

The fact that Arozarena, who's under team control through the 2026 season, only landed a pair of uninpsiring prospects (and a PTBNL) spells bad news for any position players the Blue Jays were prepared to ship out. He's a proven star with a ton of control, yet the return is fairly minimal.

This means that the Blue Jays would all but certainly be getting fleeced in deals involving Bo Bichette or Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who both have seen their names thrown around the rumor mill a ton all year long. It also means that someone like Danny Jansen, who's a rental, is not going to bring back much at all since teams are only acquiring a few months of his services.

It seems that this year's deadline is going to be all about pitching, pitching and more pitching. The Blue Jays have a top-shelf trade chip (or two) right in their rotation, but all reports indicate that they're not going to take advantage of a seller's market and move them. They can't even tear the team down properly.

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