BALTIMORE – Big picture, the Toronto Blue Jays are in a good place. Despite losing their last two, they’re atop the AL East with a 63-44 record, 5.5 games ahead of the second-place Yankees. With the best record in the American League, they’re even trending toward a first-round bye.
It’s a great place to be, and if they could lock this in for the remainder of the season, they surely would. But the end of the regular season is two months away, and the playoffs will end about three months from now — an eternity in baseball.
During that time, things will inevitably shift for the Blue Jays, including the strength of their opponents, the narrative around the team and, likely, the roster itself. That’s not necessarily a bad thing — things could get even better with a solid trade deadline and a strong finish — but this precise state can only last so long.
With that in mind, the next few days are more important than they might first seem for a team that has so much going right. One way or another, this is their chance to reinforce the roster for the challenges ahead. If someone pulls an oblique or strains a forearm in late August, it’s too late to add since August trades are no longer permitted. So, this week is not only the best chance to upgrade the current team, it’s the last shot at adding depth for the ride ahead.
“Way more fun this year than it was last year,” as manager John Schneider put it, recalling the sell-off that began this time in 2024.
“I haven’t experienced it yet,” added utility player Davis Schneider, who debuted days after the 2023 trade deadline. “So I’m excited.”
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The area where the Blue Jays appear to have the most depth is their position players, particularly their outfielders (after a scare late Monday night that saw George Springer take a pitch to the head, his manager said he was ‘doing all right’ and no IL placement was needed). By sustaining significant injuries to both Anthony Santander and Daulton Varsho, the Blue Jays have shown they have real depth there
— so much so that rival teams see this as an area of organizational strength and wonder about possible trades involving the likes of Jonatan Clase, who will be out of options next year.
Thanks to the likes of Addison Barger, Nathan Lukes, Myles Straw and Joey Loperfido, the floor is high here, especially from the left side. If there’s room for an addition, it might be a right-handed bat or switch-hitter, not to replace Davis Schneider, who owns a 113 OPS+, but simply to give the Blue Jays more depth.
Elsewhere on the position player side, the Blue Jays have Alejandro Kirk on the seven-day concussion injured list, but as Schneider said, “that’s probably the last thing I’d try to put a concrete timeline on.” As nice as it would be to have added depth alongside Tyler Heineman and Ali Sanchez, the Blue Jays only have so many prospects to trade, so if Kirk continues progressing they may avoid spending their prospects here. Perhaps a call to the Brewers about recently designated catcher Eric Haase makes some sense as a middle path.
Meanwhile, in the starting rotation, the Blue Jays have a front five that looks as good as it’s looked all season. Plus, as Schneider remarked from his office before Monday’s game, Alek Manoah continues making progress in his recovery from reconstructive elbow surgery, so he’s expected to become a big-league option next month, too.
With that in mind, the need for starting pitching isn’t as pressing as it’s been at times this season. Yet contenders can’t afford to be complacent when it comes to starting pitching, and the Blue Jays don’t have much in the way of triple-A options either. Maybe an upper-level prospect like Adam Macko or Trey Yesavage becomes a viable option by the end of the year, but no front office wants to count on that.
Under those circumstances, the Blue Jays are assessing the entire starting pitching market, from the very top down. They’ll likely consider optionable starting pitching in trade talks — but of course, big-league ready pitchers with options have immense value and aren’t easily obtained. With that in mind, a Steven Matz or Jeffrey Springs type who can start or pitch in relief might help bolster the team’s long-term starting depth, but again, those pitchers will be coveted by many contenders.
That leaves the bullpen, where the Blue Jays are described as motivated buyers. Here they could realistically use two – or perhaps even three – newcomers and since each big-league team rosters eight relievers at a time, there should be plenty of options to consider around the league.
On the Blue Jays’ roster the likes of Mason Fluharty and Braydon Fisher all have options, meaning they can be retained in the organization at the triple-A level along with the recently optioned Justin Bruihl if more established arms are acquired (for instance: David Bednar and Anthony Bender are said to be on the team’s long list of potential targets). In that scenario, the Blue Jays would improve the big-league team without losing organizational depth.
One way or another, the more the Blue Jays upgrade the 40-man roster now, the better equipped they’ll be to handle the attrition and stress ahead.
