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The rebuilding Blue Jays have been one of the most exciting teams in baseball this year. Even in an ultra-competitive AL East, the Blue Jays are very much in the playoff race. However, there should be no question that Toronto will need reinforcements to stay in the playoff race and reach the postseason, which is why the potential Blue Jays trade targets heading toward the MLB trade deadline are critical.
Of course, the question is whether the Blue Jays will be willing to sell pieces in their great farm system to make a big splash. After all, the Blue Jays have some of the best young MLB players, led by triple-crown threat Vladimir Guerrero Jr. They may want to play the long game and not be that active at the deadline.
Instead, they may see just how far Vlad Jr.’s 2021 season can take them.
Blue Jays trade targets 2021
That being said, it’s reasonable for the Blue Jays to make some minor additions to help round out the roster. On some level, it doesn’t make sense to disrupt a core that includes some of the best young MLB players who will be better off in the future by getting this experience. Instead, the Blue Jays’ trade targets are likely to be some of the more overlooked players available.
For starters, there isn’t a ton of room in Toronto’s lineup for everyday players. But the Blue Jays could use a utility player who can play multiple positions and give them a little more depth on the bench. If there’s one position that Toronto will need to explore it could be catcher.
Both Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk are on the IL, leaving Reese McGuire to do all of the heavy lifting. Even when Jansen returns, it might not be a bad idea to target a veteran catcher to serve as a leader during the stretch run.
Meanwhile, Toronto’s biggest trade targets will probably be pitchers. The Blue Jays have a solid rotation, although injuries have hurt some of their depth. It might be necessary to find a veteran starter who can shore up the back end of the rotation. The same can be said of the Toronto bullpen, which has a few notable names on the IL, creating the need for a little more depth late in the year.
Potential Blue Jays trades
On the pitching front, the Blue Jays trade targets could be solid mid-rotation starters like Danny Duffy of the Royals or Michael Pineda of the Twins. They are solid starters who probably won’t cost too much in terms of prospects. But if the Blue Jays wanted to go all out, they could make a play for Colorado starter Jon Gray, who is arguably the best starter available.
There are also two levels of reliever the Blue Jays could pursue on the trade market. The likes of Ian Kennedy of the Rangers, Richard Rodriguez of the Pirates, and Kendall Graveman of the Mariners are at the top of the list of any team in need of bullpen help. Meanwhile, Taylor Rogers of the Twins, Yimi Garcia of the Marlins, and Mychal Givens of the Rockies are also options that may not be getting as much attention in the rumor mill.
The bad news for the Blue Jays is that there may not be a lot of veteran catchers available on the trade market this summer. However, Brock Holt of the Rangers could be the perfect utility player. He’s not having a great offensive season, but he can play any position and has postseason from when he won the 2018 World Series with the Red Sox.
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