Ranking top Blue Jays trade chips by how likely they are to be dealt at the deadline

1. Yusei Kikuchi

For Yusei Kikuchi, he has certainly become a solid back end of the rotation starter for the Jays since his disappointing first season with the club in 2022. Last year, he managed to bounce back by putting up his best numbers of his MLB career when he went 11-6 with a stellar 3.86 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, along with registering 181 strikeouts in just 167.2 innings pitched. 

This season, Kikuchi had been one of the few bright spots on a middling Jays’ team until running into a mini slump this past month. Nevertheless, he still sported a respectable 4.54 ERA with a 1.31 WHIP, together with 125 strikeouts in 111 innings of work in 21 starts. With his ability to get major league hitters out, along with a high strikeout rate of greater than 25%, he would be a solid addition to any team looking to shore up their back end of the rotation heading into the stretch run. More importantly, MLB insider Bob Nightengale predicted that Kikuchi could potentially bring the Jays their biggest return at the deadline, making him a trade chip that the team will for sure use by the end of the month.