Blue Jays improve but fail to make an impact as of deadline – TSN.ca

The Toronto Blue Jays are a better team now than they were yesterday. With the trade deadline behind them, the Jays are who they will be for the remainder of the 2022 season. There is no longer a way to add players via trade by going through waivers. That’s it.

The Jays upgraded their bullpen by adding two assistants from the Miami Marlins: Anton Bass and ZachPop.

Bass’ name may sound familiar when he performed for Toronto in 2020. The 34-year-old right-hander is having his best season. In 45 games, he is 2-3 with a 1.41 ERA. He has pitched 44.2 innings and allowed just 32 hits with 10 walks and 45 strikeouts. Amazingly, he only gave up one home run. He didn’t do well pitching in the ninth inning, but he proved a solid option in the seventh and eighth innings.

Pop is 2-0 with a 3.60 ERA with the Marlins. He has appeared in 18 games this year, pitched 20 innings, conceded 23 hits, made two walks and hit 14 outs. He also only allowed one home run. He’ll be a good weapon to bring into play with runners on base when the Jays need a double play. He’s a groundball generating machine.

Bass and pop add to the length and depth of the Jays Bullpen. They’ll allow manager John Schneider to shorten the game because they’re two good options to mix in with the rest of the bullpen.

Toronto added another pitcher, Mitchell White, from the Los Angeles Dodgers. White is 27 years old and has played in the major leagues for parts of the last three seasons. He was primarily a starter, but has also served as a cross-country skier. He reminds me Ross Stripling First joining the Jays from LA, he’s a more than viable pitcher, protecting Toronto’s initial pitching depth and strengthening their bullpen. If Yusei Kikuchi again stalls in the rotation, White can take the ball in his place.

Eventually, the Jays traded for Whit Merrifield by the Kansas City Royals. Merrifield was a longtime royal who has historically been highly coveted by almost every team in baseball. He can play on second base as well as in the outfield. He has led the league in hits twice, doubles once, triples once and three stolen bases. He’s a contact bat with speed. Despite having a bit of a bad year (.240/.290/.352), he’s still a hard-nosed player who can run the bases and get the ball in play. He’s a great leader and teammate. I think the change of scene will reinvigorate it. I like that even though he’s played more corners in the outfield, he can play in the middle and maybe that’s why he has to George Springerthe painful elbow. Springer may need to take at-bats from the designated batsman’s position until his elbow heals.

Interestingly, Merrifield was one of 10 royals who were unable to travel to Toronto in mid-July because he was unvaccinated. At the time he said he would consider it if he was part of a competitive winning team. The royals weren’t quite like that. One would have to assume the Jays wouldn’t have acted for him if they had any doubts that he would get his chance.

Are the Jays still competitors?

The Jays are certainly better because of those four acquisitions. But they do feel a bit anticlimactic, having been tied to several more influential players who were moving elsewhere or not at all.

The two-way star of angels Shhei Ohtani was not traded as a superstar outfielder Juan Soto was dished out to San Diego to a huge package of prospects the Jays couldn’t match. ace pitcher Luis Castillo was traded from the Reds to the Seattle Mariners while Frankie Montas, Oakland’s No. 1 starter, is now a Yankee. Both would have helped the Blue Jays significantly, but the Mariners and Yankees paid a heavy price to prospects to acquire them. In a way, I can understand that the Jays might not have been a match.

But I’m surprised they couldn’t get a right-handed deal Tyler Mahle by the Cincinnati Reds, who were eventually traded to Minnesota. Although it’s worth noting that Mahle didn’t make the trip north when the Reds played Toronto in May. Left starter Jose Quintana resurrected his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates and was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. I thought Cubs closer David Robertson was a perfect target for the Jays, but he was eventually traded to the Phillies. For one reason or another, the Jays passed on a number of more influential players than they acquired.

Make no doubt about it — the Jays are still being built as a playoff team. They’re good enough to stay at the top of the wildcards and fend off the Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Cleveland Guardians, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago White Sox. But to advance in the playoffs, the Jays will likely need to face one or both of the New York Yankees and Houston Astros. Each team made significant improvements to their already superior rosters by the deadline. As it stands, the Yankees and Astros would be my matchup for the American League Championship. I’m not saying the Jays can’t win the pennant, but they have less room for error when they play New York and Houston. You have to be nearly flawless in a series to beat them.

Biggest Deadline Winners, Losers

The overall winner of the trade deadline is the San Diego Padres for their acquisition of Fireballer Josh Haderfuture hall of fame Juan Soto and switch-hitting first baseman Josh Bell. The Padres gave up a lot, but I also think the Nationals are winners for the haul they brought back.

The Phillies traded for starters Noah Syndergard from the Los Angeles Angels. He’ll be helping the rotation as long as he doesn’t run out of gas in his first season after Tommy John’s surgery. I also liked her addition of Robertson to bolster her bullpen. They also have a young outfielder Brandon March from the Phillies in a separate trade.

The Minnesota Twins improved their pitching by adding Mahle from the Reds and Reliever Michael Fulmer on the heels of the approach Jorg Lopez from Baltimore.

The losers as of deadline are the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Guardians. So far they have been able to keep up with the Minnesota Twins, but I expect that will change. Their passivity will cost them a division title opportunity.

The Texas Rangers also fall into the losers category. They could have traded the pending free agent starting pitcher Martin Perez, who has had a great year. Plus, Matt Moore has proven itself as a left-hander reliever. None of them were traded by a team that’s going nowhere at 46-56. This is a missed opportunity to stock up on prospects. They could have traded pitchers and then attempted to re-sign them in the offseason.

The Chicago Cubs were able to trade Robertson to the Phillies, but they didn’t trade the catcher at the end of the day Willson Contreras or outfield player Jan Happ. It’s unclear why. The asking price was known to be high, but eventually get the best deal you can and get something back. It may be that they charged so much that clubs went in different directions. After the emotional, tearful farewell, both Happ and Contreras will end the season in Cubs uniforms. Another losing opening for the Rebuilding Cubs.

Finally, the only team not to have made a single transaction as of the reporting date was the Colorado Rockies (46-59). No additions and no subtractions. They re-signed Reliever Daniel Barde but could not move the shortstop Jose Iglesias or relief Alex Colomé. Last year they traded no outstanding free agents Trevor story or Jon Grey. It was another missed opportunity as both signed elsewhere and the Rockies got nothing but draft picks for Story. Where’s the creativity? The trade deadline is a time for general managers to compete. And they didn’t do anything at all.