Toronto Blue Jays 'desperate' for big move at MLB trade deadline
If you’ve paid attention to how the Toronto Blue Jays have been managed over the past decade, you might be dying for them to finally land “the big fish.”
While the Jays have been in the running for several major free agent stars over the last few years — Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto, and Roki Sasaki come to mind — it’s often been a story of the team falling just short of whatever the final offer may be.
But the trade market provides a completely different set of contenders for big-name players, with usually only a few teams really buying big at the deadline, set for July 31 each year.
And with Toronto currently holding the MLB’s best record entering Monday, it sounds like they’re ready to make a splash this year.
MLB insider Ken Rosenthal spoke on the Fair Territory show today about Toronto’s inclination to make a big move at the deadline.
“The Blue Jays are… a team that has not won the World Series since 1993 and is desperate to do something big again,” Rosenthal said, while also noting that team president Mark Shapiro is in the last year of his deal and might be more inclined to make a risky move.
Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi also echoed those comments on a radio hit on Halford and Brough this morning.
“I think [the Blue Jays] are definitely trying to do something significant. A lot of market forces [are] at work right now. Some clubs still sort of on the fence that might have pitching available,” Davidi said.
What has the Blue Jays’ history at the trade deadline been like?
Most Blue Jays fans remember the 2015 trade deadline now, where the Jays acquired two blue-chip All-Stars in Troy Tulowitzki and David Price from Colorado and Detroit, respectively.
And while Toronto has made its fair share of deadline moves over the past few years — with a move with Minnesota for pitcher Jose Berrios in 2021 perhaps the biggest one — Toronto’s front office must know that this isn’t a typical year for the Blue Jays.
With only a few short days until Thursday’s deadline, we’ll know soon what exactly Toronto’s squad will look like for the stretch drive of the season.