At first glance, the Toronto Blue Jays wouldn’t seem to be in a position to be playing baseball in October. They currently stand as the last-place team in the American League East, and they haven’t been playing the brand of baseball we were accustomed to seeing from them in 2025.
It will be interesting to see the Blue Jays’ trade deadline approach, and even more so to see how the events of the next few weeks unfold and help determine what that approach will be.
Blue Jays Trade Deadline Strategy: Buyers or Sellers?
As mentioned, Toronto doesn’t pass the eye test of a team that should be playing playoff baseball. The Blue Jays will need to improve in several areas in the second half if they still hope to. However, they should feel fortunate, as the parity of the American League this season is the reason they remain well within reach of the final Wild Card spot at 2 1/2 games back. They are part of a crowded Wild Card race that includes the Boston Red Sox, Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, and Detroit Tigers, making the Blue Jays’ trade deadline approach even more interesting, with all five teams separated by just 3 1/2 games in the Wild Card standings.
The answer to whether the Blue Jays will be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline will be determined over the next few weeks. The messiness of the AL postseason picture has provided a lifeline to the Blue Jays, and they need to use it. The next couple of weeks leading up to the conclusion of July will be the most important stretch of baseball for Toronto, and the direction of the Blue Jays’ trade deadline will be revealed by how they perform during this period.
If they come out of the first few weeks after the All-Star break still within four games of the final Wild Card spot, you can expect them to be buyers. But if they continue to descend and move further out of the postseason picture (five or more games back), expect to see some Blue Jays pieces start to disappear before the trade deadline.
What the Blue Jays Need to Add
Another Arm in the Rotation
The non-linear progression of the Blue Jays’ starting rotation this year has been a recurring theme. Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, and Trey Yesavage have all had their struggles as of late, and the fifth starter role remains vacant. Although Spencer Miles is proving valuable by helping to fill gaps in the rotation, it is reasonable to expect they will try to add another starting pitcher if they do become buyers. But who?
GM Atkins: Starting pitching is likely atop Blue Jays’ trade deadline wish list, via @bnicholsonsmith. pic.twitter.com/lI3L1uDSFG
— Underdog MLB (@UnderdogMLB) June 23, 2026
Perhaps the answer lies in one of the Jays’ more recent opponents, the San Francisco Giants’ Robbie Ray. The former Blue Jay has posted a 3.38 ERA, an 8-6 record, and a 1.266 WHIP this season. Toronto’s rotation is stacked full of right-handers, so it would make sense to add a southpaw, and what better man to add than the one who won a Cy Young Award with you in 2021?
Another name that might seem attractive to the Jays is Reid Detmers of the Los Angeles Angels. Detmers, another southpaw, ranks just outside the top 10 in the league in strikeouts with 123. In addition to his five-pitch mix, which includes a four-seam fastball, curveball, slider, changeup, and sinker, he holds two years of control after this season, which could be appealing for Toronto, given that Gausman and Bieber will be free agents at the end of the year.
Per Keegan Matheson of MLB.com, if Toronto were to pursue some additional pieces, prospects such as Arjun Nimmala (Blue Jays No. 2 prospect) and Gage Stanifer (Blue Jays No. 6 prospect) would likely be among the biggest bargaining chips in a Blue Jays trade deadline package.
More Offense?
It sounds like a broken record to talk about the Blue Jays’ offensive struggles. However, they are real, and it’s logical to think they would pursue an impact bat. But with the infield of Kazuma Okamoto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Andrés Giménez and Ernie Clement pretty dead set, the Jays would probably be looking to add that impact bat in the outfield, although there are not many options on the market that fit that profile. Ultimately, the answer for the Jays’ offense lies, again, in the pickup in performance of the pieces they have, mainly the recently returned Alejandro Kirk and Guerrero Jr. If those two start to get going, a lot of Toronto’s offensive struggles will dissipate.
The Selling Dilemma
If the Jays were to find themselves as sellers at the deadline, it doesn’t seem like they have much to offer. Their biggest selling point would be Gausman, who is in his mid-to-late 30s and has not been the guy we have come to know during his tenure in Toronto, with 21 earned runs in his last five starts.
Daulton Varsho and George Springer certainly seem like names that could go by the trade deadline. But Springer is a fraction of what he was last year, with a .218 batting average, nine home runs, and an OPS under .700. Varsho, on the other hand, is 6-for-50 and remains a key piece of the Jays’ outfield defensively.
If Toronto does end up having to sell some of these pieces, the Blue Jays’ trade deadline from a seller’s standpoint could be challenging, to say the least.
Main Photo Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
