MLB Rumors: Sleeper Braves trade, Cardinals biggest fear, Blue Jays target

MLB Rumors: Blue Jays linked to Jordan Montgomery trade

The Toronto Blue Jays have climbed out of an early deficit in the AL East and are now one of the three wild card teams in the American League entering play on Thursday, July 27. But if they want to stay in that playoff spot and, more importantly, make a push in the postseason, upgrading the pitching could be crucial.

Eno Sarris of The Athletic (subscription required) provided one potential solution that would see the Blue Jays going after one of the top rental arms on the starting pitching market: Cardinals left-hander Jordan Montgomery.

As noted by Sarris, the current rotation in Toronto is extremely heavy on right-handed pitching as currently constructed, even if it’s been a solid group overall. Southpaw Hyun Jin Ryu is slated to come back at some point down the stretch, but as he returns from undergoing Tommy John surgery, there are warranted questions about the quality of stuff he’ll have upon his reinsertion into the rotation.

That could open up the door for a lefty like Montgomery to really change the calculus for the Blue Jays.

Even amid the Cardinals struggles overall in the 2023 season, Montgomery has remained a stellar piece, as he has been since St. Louis acquired him from the Yankees at last year’s deadline. He leads all Cardinals starters with a 3.37 ERA and 1.23 WHIP on the season, which shows just how valuable he could be to a contender’s pitching staff.

As we saw with the Angels dealing for Lucas Giolito, though, the cost for even rentals in this seller’s market is extremely high. Would the Blue Jays be willing to pony up in order to get one of the best rentals available? That’s the question that most pertinent, but the fit and how Montgomery would help in Toronto is undeniable.