Did Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins buy himself any more time with a successful trade deadline?

After eight trades that brought 14 newcomers to the Toronto Blue Jays organisation, including eight new prospects in the Blue Jays top 30 ranking, the consensus is that general manger Ross Atkins had a very successful trade deadline.

Going in to the trade deadline, the goals were obvious for a front office that has said they wanted to reload for another run with the current core in 2025:

• Add enough MLB-ready talent to upgrade their farm system depth to reload for another run with the current core with one more year of team control in 2025, including Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Chris Bassitt, Chad Green and Jordan Romano.

• Get the competitive balance tax (CBT) payroll below the $237M threshold that would have triggered luxury taxes for a second consecutive season in 2024.

Both goals appear to have been achieved as of the deadline on Tuesday, and for that, Atkins and his staff deserve credit. Prospects including Jake Bloss, Joey Loperfido and Jonatan Clase all should help the big league club compete next season, and the Jays apparently have reset their luxury tax status ahead of what most likely will be a very busy offseason.

Did Atkins buy himself more time?

In a word, “probably”. But does that just delay the inevitable?

Blue Jays fans will get an update from team president Mark Shapiro next Wednesday, August 7 at his scheduled media availability, as the focus now shifts to building a World Series contender around the players who remain. He’s long defended Atkins, who he hired as GM in late 2015 to replace the departed Alex Anthopoulos, and then extended for five years through the 2026 season.

Following last year’s disappointing Wild Card exit after being swept 2-0 by the Minnesota Twins, Shapiro said Atkins would remain as GM, stating, “Ross needs to get better, but he's done a good job and put us in a good position [for 2024] to be a very good team, and certainly deserves that opportunity to continue to lead the baseball organization."

But surely the questions hanging over his chosen GM’s responsibility for this season, and previous failures, highlighted by a weak farm system, poor drafting and player development, as well as the Blue Jays’ inability to win postseason baseball games will all be hanging over Shapiro’s head.

“I’m disappointed that we’re here,” Atkins said on Tuesday. “It’s unacceptable that we’re here and I’m sorry to our fans… We’re focused on winning competing and contending moving forward in 2025 and 2026. And [players with added control] are a key part of that.”

Asked ahead of the trade deadline what he though the Blue Jays needed to be more competitive, manager John Schneider said, “pitching.” As per Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet, “In Bloss, the front office added a legitimately intriguing arm who may impact the big-league team as soon as this season. Otherwise, though, the lone pitchers added were Gilberto Batista, a 19-year-old who’s likely heading to low-A, and Ryan Yarbrough, a pending free agent.”

Eleven position players were added, with only Loperfido and Clase likely to play in the majors next season. But again, as per BNS, “the Blue Jays’ organizational pitching depth remains a major issue. The upper minors haven’t supplied enough quality arms this year, one reason the MLB pitching staff has struggled. This deadline doesn’t fundamentally change that.”

The organisational depth has been decimated by injuries (Alek Manoah and top pitching prospects Ricky Tiedemann, Brandon Barriera and Landen Maroudis) and suspension (Orelvis Martinez) this year. Now the Blue Jays will also have to replace pitchers Kikuchi, García, Richards and Pearson, as well as upgrade the offensive talent to improve upon Jansen, IKF, Kiermaier and Turner next year. As Atkins said Tuesday in a call with reporters, “We’re going to have to add in free agency and via trade.”

But there are some other caveats here. Adding eight prospects to your top 30 sounds great. But it also indicates just how weak the Blue Jays farm system really was. Notably, the Houston Astros’ system - which Atkins appears to have fleeced in the Kikuchi trade - ranked 29th ahead of the season per Baseball America (subscription required). They ranked 30th out of 30 teams as of the post Trade Deadline update last year.

Yarbrough is a two-month rental, and doesn’t help next year. Which leaves only Bloss so far to replace Manoah, Kikuchi, Tiedemann, García, Richards and Pearson; and, Loperfido and Clase to replace Kiermaier and IKF.

The front office still needs to improve the pitching depth, plus pursue upgrades over Jansen, IKF and Turner in free agency if they truly want to compete for a World Series in 2025. An extension for Guerrero would be welcomed with open arms by Blue Jays fans. Whether or not Ross Atkins will still be in charge of that busy offseason ahead surely is a key question hanging over ownership and Shapiro.