Multiple Blue Jays players reportedly receiving interest as trade deadline looms

The 2024 MLB trade deadline is only a few weeks away and the Toronto Blue Jays are sure to be one of the busier clubs before all is said and done. The Jays have fallen flat in a year that they should've been firmly in contention, and now it seems that multiple players - especially ones on expiring contracts - are going to be changing uniforms shortly.

Around this time of year, speculation is always flying league-wide. As of right now, the only things that seem clear are that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette are staying put unless the Blue Jays are blown away by an offer, and that rental players are about to be flying off the shelves in Toronto.

Kevin Kiermaier already was placed on and passed through waivers, but no team was brave enough to take on his black hole of a bat and remaining salary. He could still be moved, but at this point it's going to involve the Blue Jays eating most of his salary.

Elsewhere, the rumor mill is beginning to heat up around other Blue Jays, and some are not even pure rentals. Let's dive in and see what we're hearing.

Multiple Blue Jays players drawing trade interest with deadline nearing

Trio of starting pitchers

In a lengthy trade deadline primer, Jim Bowden of The Athletic pointed to the Houston Astros as a club eyeing starting pitching help in the coming weeks. In his piece, three separate Blue Jays starters got a shout-out.

Bowden mentions Yusei Kikuchi, Chris Bassitt and Kevin Gausman as three pitchers the Astros have shown interest in. Of course, this does not mean anything is close or that there've even been formal discussions between the two teams, but this is still something to monitor.

Of the three, Bassitt is having the best year so far (1.0 bWAR compared to Kikuchi's 0.9 and Gausman's -0.4) and remains a durable workhorse on the mound. The unique thing about Bassitt - and Gausman - is that they are both under contract beyond the current season. Bassitt comes with another year of control and Gausman has two.

All this means is that their trade value is boosted. They're both All-Star-caliber pitchers when they're on their game and the extra control means any acquiring team could reap the benefits for more than just a few months, which is all they'd get out of Kikuchi, barring an extension.

Danny Jansen

In a short and sweet blurb in his latest column, USA Today's Bob Nightengale formally tied the Chicago Cubs to Danny Jansen, who is another rental.

Jansen, 29, is a top-shelf offensive backstop when he's healthy, but he's always had trouble staying on the field. In fact, the seven-year veteran has appeared in over 100 games just one time and that was back in 2019 when he appeared in 107 contests. The durability is clearly a question mark, but he's got considerable pop in his bat and should be a 20-25 home run hitter if he can string a full season of starts together.

The Cubs have long been a team that stood out as a suitor for Jansen. Their catchers rank 29th in baseball in wRC+ (41) and are dead last in FanGraphs WAR.