For the Blue Jays, Christmas in late August is a chance to upgrade the roster

Claims awarded in reverse order of winning percentage as of Thursday

Teams have 48 hours to make a waiver claim, and the waiver order goes in reverse order of standings based on 2023 winning percentage, regardless of league. So if we only look at teams that still have a legitimate chance of winning either their division or a wild card, the most likely teams to make claims would be, in order: Miami, Cincinnati, San Francisco, Boston, Arizona, Minnesota, Chicago Cubs, and then the Toronto Blue Jays.

Implications for the Blue Jays?

After adding Jordan Hicks, Génesis Cabrera and Paul DeJong in separate deals with the Cardinals, as well as Mason McCoy from the Mariners ahead of the August 1st trade deadline, the Blue Jays front office now has another opportunity to upgrade their potential postseason roster as they push for a wild card in September.

Hicks has been a solid contributor since joining the team, with four saves in four opportunities and three holds in 13 appearances for Toronto, pitching to a 3.97 ERA with 10 strikeouts versus only three walks in 11.1 innings. He’s another high leverage, “swing and miss” arm at the back end of the bullpen. Cabrera has been a revelation, allowing only six hits and no runs in 18 appearances covering 16.1 innings since joining the Jays; DeJong was DFA’d on August 19th, and McCoy’s contract was just selected on Tuesday.

But general manager Ross Atkins was also looking to add a right-handed power bat at the trade deadline, noting after he failed to acquire one that, “Some of the players rumoured to be coming our way or even available didn’t seem to be as available to us… The guys that would be quote, unquote, ‘bigger bats’ weren’t as readily available as many assumed or implied.”