The Athletic surprisingly names the Blue Jays as "trade deadline winners"

Despite the fact that many Toronto Blue Jays fans left the 2023 MLB trade deadline feeling underwhelmed and disappointed at the lack of moves pulled off by Ross Atkins and Co., with what some are calling more of a "dud-line", The Athletic has surprisingly listed the Blue Jays a "winner" (subscription required) of the deadline this year.

Their rationale for this stems from the Blue Jays being in what The Athletic calls a "weird spot". They further explain that Toronto is likely good enough to make the postseason, but probably not good enough to compete with the Orioles and Rays for a division title, so smaller moves made more sense.

The Blue Jays trade deadline started off by bolstering the bullpen by acquiring reliever Génesis Cabrera from the St. Louis Cardinals. The team then made a big swing by acquiring hard throwing right-hander Jordan Hicks, also from the Cardinals, who many considered to be the best available reliever on the market. Fans were expecting these moves to be the first of a few high-impact deals, but unfortunately for them, the Hicks acquisition was the biggest swing the club made this deadline.

Then, on deadline day, in the wake of Bo Bichette leaving the game a day prior with an injury, the team also brought in SS Paul DeJong from St. Louis. DeJong doesn't have great offensive numbers, but he does have some power, and should help considerably on the defensive end.

Many would likely agree that the moves the Blue Jays did make were good ones, but more of them were desired - specifically, a right handed bat that has good numbers against lefties. The club was linked to several big names right up until the 6:00PM deadline on Tuesday. Some of these names include Tommy Pham, Lane Thomas, and even former Blue Jay Teoscar Hernández. But the deadline came and went, with no high-impact bat added, much to the dismay of fans.