Justin Turner's hot stretch should be perfect audition for interested trade partners

It's been a relatively disappointing year for the Toronto Blue Jays' major offseason signing, Justin Turner. After a scorching April that saw him be the club's best hitter, things took a turn for the worst rather quickly following a dismal May and majority of June.

Turner, who turns 40 in November, has posted some quiet numbers overall, as he currently stands with a .713 OPS while batting .243. Despite the lowly output following the scorching hot commencement, these numbers are quite a boost from where they were last week.

Stemming from Toronto's 7-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox in their series opener on June 17, Turner has racked up nine hits in seven games, while boosting his OPS from a dismal .659 to the more respectable mark of .713. To add on, his overall approach at the plate is more patient and looks akin to the hitter we saw in April, and it reflects in the fact that he's had more walks in that same stretch than he did the all of June beforehand.

While it's hard to imagine an improvement like this to mean much for the 2024 Blue Jays given their bevy of issues, even if this production is sustainable, there is a pretty important reason this boost in performance is coming at a great time.

With Toronto sitting at 36-43 even after their victory last night against the Red Sox, their shot at a postseason run looks bleak given the competitiveness of the American League this year. In other words, the stove is getting hotter and selling at a premium value will likely be a very relevant factor for the club.

July 30 marks the final day for major league clubs to make trades as the regular season will be headed toward its downswing by then. Turner marks one of the Blue Jays' most probable trade candidates, given his lone year contract status and overall track record as a reliable offensive producer.

If the red-hot slugger can maintain this level of production for another three to four weeks, barring a magical surge of the ages- then perhaps he can nab a solid return for what he's worth.

Teams like the Seattle Mariners or Chicago Cubs to name a couple, are examples of potential trade partners with ideal prospect depth that may be looking for an extra bat to help a postseason push at a minimal cost. However, the need for a DH (or bat in general) can be rather ubiquitous at this time, so the Blue Jays could have a lot of suiters come late July.

It appears Turner has loved his time north of the border so far, but perhaps he may be playing well enough as of late to help him fall in love with another city if the current trends maintain in Toronto.