Conflicting reports run rampant as Blue Jays' deadline stance remains unclear

Will they or won’t they? The Toronto Blue Jays and the 2024 MLB trade deadline are like Ross and Rachel, or Jim and Pam if that’s more your speed.

With the July 30 deadline casting an ever-growing shadow over this year’s Blue Jays, nobody seems to know what will happen over the next nine days. If you’re a casual fan and can’t figure out if the Jays will be full sellers, partial sellers, buyers, or the dreaded third option of standing pat, there’s no shame.

Conflicting reports run rampant as Blue Jays' deadline stance remains unclear

It turns out not even the experts and MLB insiders can pinpoint what Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro and general manager Ross Atkins are planning to do with their underwhelming 45-54 team. Multiple conflicting reports have emerged recently about the Blue Jays’ trade deadline focus.

It feels like the Blue Jays themselves don't know what their plan is at this point. You can almost picture Atkins sitting in a darkened office shaking a Magic 8 ball, hoping for the answers. Or perhaps he and Shapiro have broken out the Ouija board for some inspiration.

To the average observer, the Blue Jays' current situation seems like they're in an obvious "sell now" position. Taking up residence in the basement of the NL East heading into Sunday, 16.0 games out of first, their only hope would be to somehow climb back into a Wild Card race that they find themselves 9.5 games behind in.

First, there was MLB.com's Mark Feinsand's speculation on July 10 that the Blue Jays "could be a huge factor" at the deadline if they decide to sell off their intriguing trade chips. Note that this was before the All-Star break when the Jays were just 5.5 games out of the Wild Card. Things have gotten much worse since then.

"According to sources, the Blue Jays have told other clubs that they are willing to move players with expiring contracts, but those with control beyond 2024 are not being traded," Feinsand wrote.

Who are the impending free agents Feinsand is referring to? Justin Turner, Kevin Kiermaier, Yusei Kikuchi, Yimi García, Trevor Richards and Danny Jansen are all on expiring deals.

One insider agrees with Feinsand's early report while another contradicts

More recently, on Friday, Sportsnet Blue Jays insider Ben Nicholson-Smith speculated something similar on The JD Bunkis Podcast.

"My sense from talking not only to people in the Blue Jays organization who are involved in this process but also people outside of the organization is that the Blue Jays are expected to sell their rentals and that's it," Nicholson-Smith said. "My expectation based on the conversations that I've had is the Blue Jays plan to try to win next year."

It seems cut and dry. The front office is looking to move the expiring deals and keep going for it next year. However, the same day that Nicholson-Smith gave his take on the situation, another MLB insider gave a conflicting report.

According to MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Blue Jays, "are expected to consider trade offers for players under contract beyond 2024, not merely those on expiring contracts."

Will we see them actually have a fire sale of expiring contracts, or will they consider offers for players on deals past this year? Or will they be a non-commital soft seller and flounder clumsily somewhere between a contender and a rebuild?

At this point, just over a week away from the trade deadline, it seems that it's anyone's guess what the Blue Jays will do.