Blue Jays haven't "done enough" to convince owners to buy at trade deadline: report
Fresh off a late-night victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night, the Toronto Blue Jays are well on their way to a return to the MLB playoffs for a second consecutive year.
Occupying both the third American League Wild Card spot and third place in the AL East with a 56-45, the team currently has a 73.2% chance of making the postseason, per FanGraphs.
Fan interest in the team is obviously high: tickets are now sold out for the team’s upcoming series against AL MVP frontrunner Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Angels on July 28-30.
There’s added intrigue about the series being possibly Ohtani’s last in an Angels uniform should they part ways with him, with trade rumours flying around the two-way phenom who is expected to sign one of the largest deals in MLB history this coming offseason.
But according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, Toronto’s ownership group — headed up by telecom giant Rogers Communications — isn’t exactly willing to spend capital to make a big splash at this year’s trade deadline, set for next Tuesday, August 1.
“Despite currently holding the final wild-card spot, Toronto hasn’t done enough to convince ownership to open up the coffers, leaving the Blue Jays precisely where they’ve been all season: the muddled middle,” Passan wrote in a wide-ranging article for ESPN today. “That said, when asked where Ohtani could wind up if he’s moved, three of the most popular answers from executives are Baltimore, Tampa Bay and Toronto (the Blue Jays are a longer shot due to a thinner farm system).”
The Jays currently just have a single prospect in MLB.com’s Top 100: 20-year-old lefthanded pitcher Ricky Tiedemann, currently with the Florida Complex League’s Blue Jays, who also has spent time this season in AA with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
At the very least, we’ll get an answer in less than a week on where exactly the team stands when it comes to the decision to go all-in or not.
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