As expected, the Toronto Blue Jays were sellers at the trade deadline, but they did some buying as well. Overall, I like what the team did.
Let’s start with the selling.
Kevin Gausman was traded to the Chicago Cubs for a couple of prospects: Ty Southisene and Brett Bateman.
Southisene, 21, was the Cubs’ fourth-round draft pick in 2024. I saw him play as a high-school player at a showcase event. He’s not an imposing physical presence but is light on his feet and speedy. He is listed as 5-foot-7 and 170 pounds, but the 170 pounds is a bit optimistic. He needs to add strength as he has yet to hit a homer in his professional career, but he has excellent speed – he has stolen 71 bases in 157 professional games. He has a great eye at the plate with more walks (104) than strikeouts (96 Ks). There is room to dream about him filling out physically and turning into a slick-fielding leadoff-hitting shortstop.
Bateman, 24, is also a speedy player with a tremendous command of the strike zone (60 walks, 66 strikeouts). He also lacks power as he has only six homers in 315 minor-league games. Bateman is a very good defensive outfielder who can play centre field and cover a lot of ground from gap to gap. He has average more than 20 stolen bases per season in his career so far. He is performing well at the Triple-A level and is ready for his major league debut. At best, he is an everyday centre fielder who can leadoff. At worst he is an extra outfielder.
The Jays also dealt centre fielder Daulton Varsho to the Houston Astros for starting pitcher Spencer Arrighetti.
Arrighetti is 26 years old and has parts of three years of major-league experience. In his career, his record is 15-23 with a 4.66 ERA. This season he is 7-5 with a 4.60 ERA. He’s a more-than-serviceable starter who has shown flashes of excellence. The Jays will have three-plus years of control of Arrighetti, so I am anxious to see what Jays’ pitching coach Pete Walker can do with him. He has swing-and-miss stuff (9.7K/9IP). He just needs more consistency. Getting a controllable starter for next season for a two-month rental of Varsho is a win for the Jays.
Toronto also moved reliever Jeff Hoffman (and $3.75 million) to the Minnesota Twins for three prospects. Hoffman is under contract through next season as well. The Twins are picking up all of his remaining salary for this season. The money the Jays sent over will offset the $12.667 million next year.
Dasan Hill is a 20-year-old left-handed pitcher with a great arm. He needs to fill out physically as his 6-foot-5 frame needs some muscle as he only weighs 165 pounds. He is the type of pitching prospect that you have to close your eyes and dream. He has logged 160 strikeouts in just 107 innings, but he has walked 77 batters. It’s not uncommon for tall, lanky lefties to need some time to grow into their bodies and improve their coordination so they can repeat their delivery and throw more strikes. He is raw, but there is a lot to work with.
John Klein, 24, is a 6-foot-5 right-hander who is pitching at Triple-A. He lacks a dominant secondary pitch, so he has to use a sequence of pitches to navigate a lineup and keep hitters off balance. He thrived at Double-A but both last year and this year but has struggled at the next level. He is likely a reliever in the future.
Dameury Pena, 20, is a second baseman who is a big-time contact hitter. His slash line is .300/.373/.362. He has only struck out 27 times in 337 at-bats this season between low and high Class-A and walked 35 times. He has excellent command of the strike zone. He lacks power as he has 10 homers in four minor-league seasons. Like some of the other trade acquisitions, he also needs to get stronger. He is listed at 5-foot-10 and just 150 pounds.
The Jays were not able to find a taker for Shane Bieber. There were plenty more starting pitchers available than anticipated. But there were a few teams that needed a starter who did not land one: Phillies, Twins, Astros, and Arizona Diamondbacks. Bieber’s last start before the deadline, in which he lasted only 0.2 innings and walked six batters, likely chased teams away from pursuing him.
It’s too bad that George Springer didn’t want to be traded. He has no-trade rights because he has 10 years of service time and five years with the Blue Jays and made it clear his preference was to stay and finish out his contract in Toronto. There were seven right-handed hitting outfielders who were moved at the deadline. He would have been highly sought after with his postseason pedigree and improved production over the past couple of months.
Atkins gets creative
The Jays were the most creative team at the deadline. They were clearly sellers, but they also bought, adding starting pitcher Jose Soriano form the Los Angeles Angels and utilityman Josh Smith from the Texas Rangers.
Soriano, 27, isn’t a free agent until after the 2028 season. The Jays got him to still compete this season but more importantly to have an impact on the 2027 and 2028 seasons. He has the best ground-ball rate of any pitcher in the American League. He throws bowling balls to hitters. It is very difficult to lift the baseball against him. His approach fits the strength of the Jays, which is infield defence. He is a great addition to the organization.
Acquiring Soriano wasn’t cheap as the Jays had to include former first-round pick Arjun Nimmala in the deal. Nimmala looks like he will be a solid everyday shortstop in the future but his path is blocked at this point by Andres Giminez. Because the Jays are a win-now team, this deal made sense.
Smith, 28, is a versatile utilityman who has played every position except pitcher and catcher. I look at him like a left-handed-hitting Ernie Clemenet. He is a manager’s dream because he can play any position well and is a good situational hitter. He does the little things that help a team win. The stats don’t tell the entire story about his value to a team.
The Jays also acquired right-handed starting pitcher Jameson Taillon a day before the deadline. The Cubs pretty much gave him away as he had been designated for assignment. The Cubs are paying almost all of his contract. The Jays knew they were going to trade away pitching, so adding Taillon protected them as a major-league replacement. I don’t know if he has much left in the tank but a change of scenery can often help.
Overall, the Jays did well at the deadline. They sold where it was available to them and added talent to the organization. Plus, they’ve still given themselves a chance to make a run this year and get a jump start on roster construction for next year.
