Which new Blue Jays acquisitions will see big league time before the season is over?

After a very active and productive trade deadline, the Toronto Blue Jays managed to successfully add many promising prospects to the organization. For some of them, they will still need some years of growth and development before getting their shot at the big leagues. But for select others, they are practically on the cusp of being MLB-ready, if they weren’t already so.

With the Blue Jays looking to play out the season as they focus on retooling for the upcoming year, which of the potential deadline acquisitions could see a run with some big league time prior to the season’s end?

Joey Loperfido

Well, not much needs to be said for Joey Loperfido. Upon his arrival from Houston in the Yusei Kikuchi trade, he had already made the Jays’ 26-man roster. Not only that, it looks like he will get all the opportunity to play everyday as he has started in all four games since joining the team. During that stretch, Loperfido has made a good first impression, with 4 hits and 3 runs scored along with an outfield assist to boot. It appears it will be his spot to lose going forward.

Jake Bloss

Now ranked No. 3 in the Jays’ top prospects list according to MLB Pipeline, pitcher Jake Bloss was perhaps the biggest piece coming over to the Jays in the Kikuchi deal. Having seen time already in the majors this season with the Astros, there is a huge possibility that we will see Bloss up with the Jays before the year is complete. That is because the bulk of the starters in the Jays’ high minors have been hit with injury woes this season (Ricky Tiedemann, Chad Dallas and Adam Macko to name a few). In addition, Bloss will definitely get his chance if either Bowden Francis or Yariel Rodríguez falters in the starting role down the stretch. On the season, Bloss is 0-1 with a 6.94 ERA and 1.63 WHIP with 11 strikeouts in 11.2 innings pitched in the majors, but a much more impressive 4-2 with a 1.64 ERA and 0.79 WHIP across three minor league levels.

Will Wagner

The third and final piece from the Kikuchi blockbuster, infielder Will Wagner has gotten off to a blazing start with his new organization. Currently ranked 21st on the Jays’ top prospects list, the 26-year-old has registered an astounding .636 batting average and 1.805 OPS, 5 runs scored, 7 hits including 2 doubles and 1 home run, and 2 RBI over three games with the Jays’ Triple-A affiliate Buffalo. Obviously, Wagner won’t be able to keep up with that pace for the rest of the year. But given that he was already having a strong season with Houston’s Triple-A affiliate Sugar Land where he batted .307 with an .853 OPS, 51 runs scored, 13 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs, 41 RBI, 54 walks and just 33 strikeouts, he surely deserves his chance to show what he can do at the big league level this year.

Jonatan Clase

Finally, we have 22-year-old outfielder Jonatan Clase that came over in the Yimi García trade to the Seattle Mariners. Clase had actually seen major league time already this season. He had been called up on multiple occasions, but served primarily as a pinch runner or defensive replacement in more than half of the games where he saw action. In 19 games with the Mariners, Clase hit .195 with a .452 OPS, 4 runs scored, a double, 3 RBI and 3 stolen bases in 41 at-bats. On the other hand, he had been toiling with a solid season with their minor league affiliate Tacoma prior to the trade, sporting a .274 average, .856 OPS along with 47 runs scored, 11 doubles, 4 triples, 10 home runs, 34 RBI and 26 stolen bases in just 59 games played. With Loperfido likely given a run in the outfield until the end of 2024, the chances of Clase seeing big league time with the Jays in the coming weeks may be slimmer. But don’t forget, we could be only one slumping Steward Berroa, Addison Barger, or even Davis Schneider away from seeing the Jays’ No. 7 prospect make his debut with Toronto before the season is over.