Blue Jays have quiet trade deadline day after all

The 2023 MLB trade deadline has officially passed, leaving many Toronto Blue Jays fans disappointed.

Many expected Ross Atkins to be active and add some bats to the Blue Jays lineup, a group who has been inconsistent at best at the plate this season. While Atkins did make a deal for shortstop Paul DeJong earlier in the day, there was talk that they were the frontrunners to land Teoscar Hernandez.

Hernandez, who played with the Blue Jays from 2017 to 2022, ended up staying with the Seattle Mariners. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, failed to make another move after acquiring DeJong earlier in the day.

With the deadline having passed, the Blue Jays were able to bring in some bullpen help days ago by acquiring Jordan Hicks from the St. Louis Cardinals, but didn’t do much else. DeJong is expected to fill in for the injured Bo Bichette, but his role once Bichette returns remains to be seen.

At this time, the Blue Jays are barely holding on to a playoff spot as they sit in the final wild card position with a record of 59-48. It has been a rather disappointing season thus far from a team that many viewed as one of the league’s favourites to win a World Series, making the quiet deadline from Atkins all the more disappointing.

The good news for Blue Jays fans is that this team remains extremely talented and is capable of going on a big run down the stretch. Players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer are capable of much more than they have provided this season, and could get going at any time. If they do, this Blue Jays team could be thought of as contenders once again before the playoffs start. That said, adding an extra bat to the group today would have helped in that regard as well.

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