Atkins: Blue Jays ‘not close’ to trading Guerrero, Bichette

July 31, 2024

With the Toronto Blue Jays in sell mode ahead of Tuesday’s MLB trade deadline, some wondered if Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette could also be on the move. Speaking with reporters after the deadline, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins squashed those rumours.

BALTIMORE — Eight trades and 14 newcomers later, the Blue Jays are suddenly in a far different spot than they were this time last week.

As challenging as it was to say goodbye to longtime teammates like Danny Jansen and Yusei Kikuchi, these moves were made with a view toward a better future — one where the team isn’t even contemplating the kind of sell-off that just unfolded.

“I’m disappointed that we’re here,” GM Ross Atkins said Tuesday. “It’s unacceptable that we’re here and I’m sorry to our fans.”

But as a result of these moves, Toronto’s farm system is in a significantly better place and the big-league team will soon look different, too. After a busy week, it’s worth taking stock of what just happened — the best moves, the most surprising moves and the questions that remain unanswered.

With no further preamble, let’s discuss:

BEST DEAL

Monday night the Blue Jays acquired right-hander Jake Bloss, outfielder Joey Loperfido and infield prospect Will Wagner from the Houston Astros for Kikuchi.

“We expected (the return) to be strong,” Atkins said. “And the deal that was presented by Houston clearly crossed a line (to yes).”

Not only was that the Blue Jays’ biggest haul of the deadline, it was the most young talent they’ve acquired in a single trade in at least five years and arguably the biggest return of any trade at the 2024 trade deadline. Within the industry, this was viewed as a notably strong package.

“A great haul,” one rival executive said.

“Ridiculous,” said another.

“Love what we got,” added manager John Schneider.

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UPDATING THE DEPTH CHART

Asked before the trade deadline what he thought the Blue Jays could use in return, Schneider replied: “pitching.”

In Bloss, the front office added a legitimately intriguing arm who may impact the big-league team as soon as this season. Otherwise, though, the lone pitchers added were Gilberto Batista, a 19-year-old who’s likely heading to low-A, and Ryan Yarbrough, a pending free agent.

Meanwhile, the Blue Jays went out and got 11 position players. That’s not necessarily a bad thing — better to take the best players available than get overly fixated on position — but the Blue Jays’ organizational pitching depth remains a major issue. The upper minors haven’t supplied enough quality arms this year, one reason the MLB pitching staff has struggled. This deadline doesn’t fundamentally change that.

With that said, the Blue Jays did augment their core of young position players meaningfully. Loperfido and Jonatan Clase are big-league-ready outfielders with tools that should play at the highest level while Wagner, Cutter Coffey, RJ Schreck, Jacob Sharp, Eddinson Paulino, Josh Rivera, Yohendrick Pinango, Jay Harry and Charles McAdoo represent a significant infusion of talent in the minor leagues.

Remaining needs beyond pitching include big-league catching and impact bats.

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COULD JAYS HAVE GONE BIGGER?

The deals the Blue Jays made generally make sense. Will they actually work? We’ll know in a few years, but here and now they seem like prudent decisions given the reality that the current team isn’t contending.

Was there a chance to do more, though? In a sellers’ market, Chad Green and even Chris Bassitt seemed like potential trade chips, but sources said the Blue Jays didn’t shop them ahead of the deadline, preferring to hold onto them for 2025, the final season of their deals. Initially, they didn’t plan to trade Isiah Kiner-Falefa either until Pittsburgh offered McAdoo and his intriguing power.

“We were not looking to move IKF,” Atkins said. “I was surprised.”

Without knowing what offers were out there, our information is admittedly incomplete and Green and Bassitt both earn significant salaries ($10.5 million per season for Green, $21 million annually for Bassitt) which caps their trade value. At the same time, it’s hard not to wonder if the Blue Jays could have advanced their future prospects even further by being more ruthless in selling this summer.

“We’re focused on winning competing and contending moving forward in 2025 and 2026,” Atkins said. “And (players with added control) are a key part of that.”

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MOST SURPRISING DEAL

There was a pattern to the Blue Jays’ deadline moves: Kikuchi, Jansen, Yimi García, Justin Turner, Trevor Richards and Kevin Kiermaier are all on the brink of free agency. Even Kiner-Falefa is only one year away.

So, like any responsible non-contender, the Blue Jays got what they could for that group whether it was a fringe prospect like Shreck, the 24-year-old who came back for Turner, or the likes of Bloss and McAdoo, who may offer legitimate big-league impact.

The one deal that fell outside of that pattern was the trade that sent Nate Pearson to the Cubs. Now granted, Pearson never came close to putting it together in Toronto and velocity alone doesn’t equate to success or even prospect pedigree in today’s game.

But the Blue Jays have the worst bullpen in the American League this year, and Pearson is controllable through 2026 at a reasonable price. Plus, the return of Rivera and Pinango was described by some observers as bench players at best.

None of this means the deal’s destined to backfire or anything, but it was just out of step with the other moves. Seemingly, the Blue Jays were very ready to move on.

SIGNIFICANCE FOR ATKINS

This hasn’t been a good season for Atkins, not only because the big-league team has struggled but because the farm system has taken hits via injury (Ricky Tiedemann, Brandon Barriera, Landen Maroudis) and suspension (Orelvis Martinez). This deadline, on the other hand, featured some strong results from the GM.

As for how it all lands with team president and CEO Mark Shapiro, chances are good he’ll zoom out beyond this week (mostly good) or even this season (mostly not) to assess Atkins’ overall body of work. While Shapiro hasn’t taken questions from the media since spring training, that will change next week with a scheduled media availability where he’s sure to be asked about Atkins’ standing.

That could provide more clarity on what happens from here.

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OFF-SEASON DIRECTION

With the trade deadline now past, the natural tendency is to look ahead to the off-season – the next major chance to make moves that will shape the Blue Jays’ future. Only it’s not quite time for that just yet.

Internally, the Blue Jays have a lean. They’d like to compete next year if at all possible. But the specifics of that plan haven’t been finalized because there are still two months of baseball to play — still plenty of time for the breakouts, busts and injuries that can happen on pro baseball fields.

Now it’s a question of making sure the newcomers can thrive and letting the rest of the season unfold. And in a few months, it’ll be transaction season once again.

“We’re going to have to add in free agency and via trade,” Atkins said.

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Atkins: Blue Jays ‘not close’ to trading Guerrero, Bichette

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