Recent Blue Jays’ injury exposes under-acknowledged Trade Deadline need

The Toronto Blue Jays recently lost reliever Ryan Burr to the injured list with a rotator cuff strain, which is a serious injury. Burr was placed on the 60-day injured list and Tommy Nance has been recalled to fill in his spot in the bullpen after spending the season in Triple-A.

Nance has been having a decent year in the minors, earning this chance in the big leagues by posting a 4.60 ERA with a 2.63 FIP and a 12.06 K/9 across 31.1 innings. He should hold his own in the bullpen for a little while, but Toronto cannot rely on him down the stretch for the postseason.

The team still needs to go after relievers at the deadline to boost this bullpen. Nance does not exactly have great career numbers, so if Burr is out for the rest of the season, then this spot needs to be replaced with a proven, reliable arm. They still have Yimi Garcia, Paxton Schultz, and Nick Sandlin on the injured list as well that will come back, but the Blue Jays still undoubtedly needs to deepen that group.

Blue Jays injury of Ryan Burr signals need for relievers at MLB Trade Deadline.

There are a lot of ways the Blue Jays can approach this, whether that be a situational arm, high leverage, or rental. A fun idea to think about would be a package of Mitch Keller and Caleb Ferguson from the Pittsburgh Pirates to help stabilize the rotation and add a reliable southpaw to the bullpen. Brendon Little has been great this season, but Justin Bruihl may not exactly be a part of the World Series recipe. Another lefty is needed and Ferguson is a perfect fit.

Ferguson limits hard contact and is one of the best at it, with just a 25% hard hit rate and average exit velocity of 83.3 mph. That has helped him to a great 2.77 ERA and career best FIP of 3.01 so far.

There are plenty of other relievers on the market, but the Keller-Ferguson deal would be perfect for the Blue Jays' needs. Maybe Nance can hold his own in the bullpen and become that 34 year old anchor Toronto needs him to be. Nonetheless, this team needs more established depth in the bullpen and this deadline is the perfect time to do it.