Some people remember it as if it was yesterday. Other people consider it a distant memory. It doesn’t matter how you view the Toronto Blue Jays playoff runs of 2015 and 2016, because those days are long gone. It seems too good to be true to picture a time where the Blue Jays could field consecutive playoff teams, while the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are not the dominant ball clubs that they are now. In 2015, the Blue Jays lost in 6 games to the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series (ALCS), while the Yankees lost in the wildcard game and the Red Sox failed to qualify for the playoffs. Blue Jays fans will remember that this playoff run was headlined by the famous Jose Bautista bat flip. In 2016, the Blue Jays lost in 5 games to the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS, while the Red Sox fell victim to Cleveland the round prior and the Yankees failed to qualify for the playoffs. Blue Jays fans will remember that this playoff run was headlined by the Edwin Encarnacion walk off home run in extra innings against the Baltimore Orioles. Ah, the good ol’ days. It can be very hard to cope with the fact that the Blue Jays couldn’t take advantage of a time where the MLB’s toughest division was up for the taking, as we have now reached a point where the Yankees and Red Sox, through both deep pockets and strong young talent, are set up to control the division for the foreseeable future. In knowing this, the Blue Jays had the tough position this trade deadline of looking to acquire prospects to build for the distant future, while also acquiring players that can make the team competitive enough in the near future to surround the number 1 prospect in baseball, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (VGJ) with enough talent to not waste too many of his prime, controllable seasons in a Blue Jays uniform. So, let’s find out what they did at the trade deadline and look at the future implications of each deal.
WHAT DID THEY DO?
Trade OF Steve Pearce and cash to Boston Red Sox for INF prospect Santiago Espinal:
With Pearce on an expiring contract, and forming a very useful platoon situation with Curtis Granderson at the time, the Blue Jays were able to flip an asset for a good prospect. Espinal is the number 24 prospect in the Blue Jays farm system, according to the most recent MLB pipeline prospect list of each team. The 23 year old SS prospect was hitting .262 with 2 home runs and 8 RBI in 17 games with the Class A Dunedin Blue Jays, before a recent promotion to the AA New Hampshire Fisher Cats has him hitting .298 in 13 games. Considering that Pearce was a platoon option on an expiring contract who was often injured, the Blue Jays did well to turn that into a good prospect.
Trade RHP Seung-hwan Oh to Colorado Rockies for prospects Chad Spanberger (1B) and Forrest Wall (OF):
Oh could be seen as the Blue Jays most sought after relief pitcher, due to his performance this season and the fact that he has a very affordable team option next season (that will almost certainly get picked up by the Rockies). With this return, the Blue Jays continued to stock a prospect pool that had been depleted in recent years. Wall, a former 1st round pick in 2014 who can play centre field and left field, had hit .206 in 46 AA games after his May promotion, with 6 home runs. He has joined he New Hampshire Fisher Cats. In Spanberger, the Blue Jays acquired a power hitting lefty who has hit .315 with 22 home runs in Single A this season. He has joined the Single A Lansing Lugnuts. Wall was added to the Blue Jays top 30 prospects, coming in at number 26, while Spanberger was left off the list.
Trade LHP J.A. Happ to New York Yankees for 2B/3B/OF Brandon Drury and prospect Billy McKinney (OF):
The Blue Jays starter was their biggest rental trade piece at the deadline, and they took a unique approach to dealing him. Instead of acquiring teenagers or prospects who are years away, the Blue Jays acquired a young major league player and a prospect who is on the cusp on being major league ready. As mentioned, Toronto needed to find the balance between acquiring long-term prospects and players who can surround the next wave of great Blue Jays players (VGJ, Bo Bichette, Danny Jansen, Anthony Alford, Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Ryan Borucki, etc.). Jays brass did very well in this deal, especially considering that Happ had a very tough month of July that reduced his trade value. GM Ross Atkins has been very clear in his attempts to acquire/produce utility players who can play multiple defensive positions to help his manager put out versatile lineups. Examples of this in the past have been the way that the team has handled Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Yangervis Solarte. Drury joins a crowded infield that already includes the aforementioned Gurriel and Solarte, along with Aledmys Díaz, Devon Travis and Josh Donaldson. Drury has had 2 full major league seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks, hitting .282 and .267 with a total of 29 home runs and 68 doubles, while maxing out his on-base percentage at .329. The Blue Jays acquired a major league ready player who can play multiple positions and has not yet reached his potential. In McKinney, the Blue Jays acquired a AAA outfielder hitting .226 this season, who also played 4 games with the Yankees to begin the year before getting hurt (in Toronto of all places). He recently cracked the Blue Jays top 30 prospects, coming in at number 19.
Trade RHP Roberto Osuna to Houston Astros for RHP Ken Giles, RHP pitching prospects Hector Perez and David Paulino:
Wow. This one caught people off guard. The Blue Jays decided internally that Roberto Osuna would never pitch for the team again, so being able to acquire a closer with 2 more years of team control, along with 2 pitching prospects, the Blue Jays did a wonderful job of ridding themselves of a potential major headache. Roberto Osuna was a dominant closer for the better part of the previous 4 seasons, before a domestic abuse allegation landed him a 75 game suspension and ultimately ended his tenure in Toronto. In Giles, the Blue Jays have a closer with some problems in his own right, as the right-hander was a dominant closer throughout the regular season last year, earning 34 saves, before becoming untrustworthy in the World Series and into this season. His 4.99 ERA this year led to his demotion to AAA, as did a couple blow-ups, punching himself in the face after being pulled in a game and shouting at his manager in the dugout one time. A change of scenery should help the 27 year old, as a lot of his underlying numbers this year were in line with his career normals, which suggests that he can get back to be being the dominant pitcher he was last year. He uses a fastball and slider, and can touch 98 M.P.H. on his fastball. Perez, 22, will join AA New Hampshire, and joins the new wave of solid pitching prospects in the system. His best pitch is his fastball, which ranges from the mid to high 90’s, touching 99 M.P.H. He owns a 3.72 ERA across 2 levels this season. The problem that will need to be fixed is his very high walk rate, which leads some to believe that he will eventually move to a bull-pen role. David Paulino, 24, had an up and down tenure as an Astros prospect. He was once the number 3 prospect in their system, before an 80 game PED suspension last season and injuries throughout the years stalled his development. Paulino has had a cup of coffee in the majors, pitching 36 innings for Houston. He also features a heavy fastball, touching 98 M.P.H. and the ability to throw strikes with his other 3 pitches. He will join AAA Buffalo.
Trade LHP Aaron Loup to Philadelphia Phillies for RHP prospect Jacob Waguespack:
The longest tenured Blue Jay was dealt to the Phillies on deadline day, passing that torch to Kevin Pillar. This was a depth move, but Waguepsack has some potential, as his first game in AAA Buffalo saw him go 6 1/3 innings and strike-out 12. He has a 4.75 ERA across AA and AAA this season.
Trade RHP John Axford to Los Angeles Dodgers for RHP prospect Corey Copping:
Axford was dealt late on deadline day, and in Copping the Blue Jays acquired another pitching prospect to build up their farm system. Copping has a 2.52 ERA in AA this season, and will join AA New Hampshire. Turning an expiring contract who had pitched very well lately in Axford for a young arm was another good deadline move by the front office.
FUTURE OF THE TORONTO BLUE JAYS:
The Blue Jays unloaded 6 players, and received returns that hinted that they want to stock a prospect pool, while also not going into a full blown rebuild. The Blue Jays brought in pieces (headlined by Drury and Giles) that show that they want to surround Guerrero Jr. with a solid team in the near future to avoid wasting his prime seasons, as the Los Angeles Angels have done with Mike Trout. It looks like this team is aiming to be a playoff contending team in 2020.
There were some players who didn’t get moved at the deadline that could be seen as a surprise, headlined by Curtis Granderson and Yangervis Solarte. There was speculation that Solarte would get moved based on the fact that Gurriel Jr. and Drury are also utility infielders, but the Blue Jays ultimately held onto him. There are still a chance that some Blue Jays pending free agents get traded in August, including Granderson, Donaldson and Marco Estrada (they would just need to slide through waivers, and there is a high chance that those players would).
This team will have a much different look come 2019. The summer shopping list will probably include bringing in a starting pitcher on a cheap contract that can eat up some innings on a young starting staff that should include Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez, Sam Gaviglio and Borucki, along with the possibility for the likes of Paulino and Sean Reid-Foley to start their full-time major league careers. Don’t be surprised to see the Blue Jays attempt to bring back J.A. Happ, as a deal makes sense for both sides if Happ is open to coming to a team that doesn’t look like it will be a playoff contender until at least 2020. Additionally, look for the team to continue to go bargain diving for relief pitchers, as this regime has found success in late off-season bull-pen arms that help the team win ball games, while also being options to deal at the deadline, such as Joe Smith and John Axford in the past 2 seasons. It will be interesting to see where else the Blue Jays add in the off-season, but don’t expect too much action, as many positions will be looked to be filled internally via prospects, such as Alford in the OF and Jansen at backup catcher.
Bautista. Encarnacion. Donaldson. Now it’s Guerrero Jr. This will officially become VGJ’s team next season, with the most likely scenario seeing him become a late April call- up to preserve an extra year of team control, similar to what the Atlanta Braves did with Ronald Acuna Jr. this past year. Blue Jays fans will be treated to seeing the leagues 5th best farm system start to fill out the major league roster in the years to come. This years trade deadline kickstarted a re-tool, and the Toronto Blue Jays front office did a very good job of flipping assets to contending teams while acquiring talent that will help the team in the following years.
REFERNCES:
MLB.com
MiLB.com
MLB Pipeline Prospect Watch
Sportsnet.ca
The Matty Ice Sports Blog 