Blue Jays strike again, trade another rental pitcher as deadline nears

Happy deadline day to all who celebrate! The Toronto Blue Jays are continuing to take advantage of a seller's market by moving any rentals they can prior to the closing of the trade window. They've already moved Danny Jansen, Justin Turner, Yusei Kikuchi, Nate Pearson and Yimi Garcia.

Kevin Kiermaier, Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Chad Green and Chris Bassitt are all names that could still be moved before all is said and done.

Heading into Tuesday evening's action, there was one team in the league that had not made a single move yet and that was the Minnesota Twins. According to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, the Twins are acquiring Blue Jays reliever Trevor Richards.

Sportsnet's Shi Davidi chimed in afterwards to confirm that the deal is a one-for-one swap. Infield prospect Jay Harry is heading to the Blue Jays in the deal.

Blue Jays trade Trevor Richards to the Twins

Richards is yet another Blue Jay on an expiring contract, so a deal involving him has felt imminent for a while now. The right-hander made 45 appearances for the Jays this year, posting a 4.64 ERA and 87 ERA+ across 52.1 innings of work. He has always given the Blue Jays a flexible pitcher who can function as an opener, middle reliever or multi-inning option on any given night.

His tenure in Toronto will come to a close with a 4.75 ERA across 195 games (nine starts) that were spread over four seasons.

Harry, 22, was a sixth-round pick of the Twins in the 2023 MLB Draft. He's a lefty-swinging bat who has eight home runs and 39 RBI through 82 High-A games in the Twins system this year. Throughout his college years he was a light-hitting, contact-oriented player but he seems to have tapped into some of his power potential as a pro.

On defense, he has bounced around all over the infield and outfield, giving the Blue Jays yet another versatile defender that they're known to love so dearly. He's not a top-ranked prospect by any means, but it's a nice get for someone like Richards, who has been a so-so pitcher this season.