The Toronto Blue Jays have been one of the best teams in Major League Baseball over the past month and have won three consecutive games to open the second half.
Winners in seven of their last 10, the Blue Jays hold a three-game lead over the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East.
Toronto hasn’t won the AL East in a decade and are in a good position to win it, but the team will need a couple of upgrades to solidify their chances.
Jim Bowden of The Athletic released an article about where all 30 teams stand with 10 days to go before the trade deadline.
The Blue Jays are buyers, and Bowden says they are “all-in” at the trade deadline this year.
“The first-place Blue Jays are “all-in” at this year’s trade deadline. They know they have to make two or three good trades if they’re going to win the AL East,” wrote Bowden.
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
“They are focused on adding a starting pitcher and a reliever. They’ve been connected with the Pirates on Mitch Keller, Dennis Santana and David Bednar, as well as the Diamondbacks with Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly. They also could swing big and try to land either Michael King or Dylan Cease from the Padres in a contender-to-contender type of swap.”
Pitching wasn’t at the forefront of general manager Ross Atkins’ top priorities, but with the recent resurgence of right-handed bat Davis Schneider, the Blue Jays are expected to heavily pursue pitching at the trade deadline.
Keller would be a great fit and probably the best option, as Gallen has the third-worst ERA for a qualified starting pitcher.
Adding Bednar or Santana to the mix would be a huge boost to Toronto’s pitching staff, which ranks fourth in team bullpen ERA (3.55) and 25th in starting pitching ERA (4.55).
Expect the Blue Jays to be one of the more active teams at the deadline.
More MLB: Diamondbacks 2-time All-Star slugging third baseman named best trade candidate
