MLB Trade Deadline Rumors: 5 trades Blue Jays should make

2. Trade Justin Smoak to the Angels

The Blue Jays were patient with Justin Smoak, and even signed him to a contract extension in 2016. He rewarded them with a monster first half of the season.

Smoak, 30 years old and an eight-year major league veteran, was a first round pick in the 2008 MLB Draft, spent a couple of years as one of the top prospects in baseball, and debuted with the Texas Rangers as a 23-year-old in 2010. However, Smoak hit just .223/.308/.392 with 106 home runs from 2010-16, moving from Texas to Seattle in 2010, and eventually to Toronto in 2015.

Smoak never posted a batting average higher than .238 in a season, never hit more than 20 homers, or surpassed .768 OPS over that span. According to Fangraphs, he never posted more than 0.7 Wins Above Replacement in any year, and recorded an fWAR under 0.0 in four separate seasons.

However, Smoak finally broke out. He has a .298/.372/.588 slash with 26 home runs and a .959 OPS, and is currently worth 2.5 fWAR. Deservedly, Smoak was selected to the AL All-Star team.

Smoak finally blossomed into the productive, switch-hitting first baseman the Blue Jays (and Rangers and Mariners) thought he would be. But, instead of gambling that the South Carolina product can keep it up in the years to come, the Blue Jays have an opportunity to sell high.

The trade market for first basemen is slim, especially after the Yankees acquired Todd Frazier and plan to shift Chase Headley from third to first. However, the Angels, three games under .500 but only three games back in the Wild Card, have gotten less production out of first basemen this year than any other team in baseball.