The Toronto Blue Jays came into the season with high expectations, but the expectations for the rest of the American League East were just a tad bit higher. The New York Yankees were coming off a World Series appearance and loaded their roster with more talent than before. The Baltimore Orioles looked ready to take a big leap going into 2025. The Boston Red Sox made a few huge acquisitions including the signing of Alex Bregman and a trade for Garrett Crochet.
While the Yankees have been great this season, the Red Sox and Orioles haven't lived up to expectations. Boston recently traded its best player, Rafael Devers, while Baltimore is seemingly out of the postseason race already.
This slight slipup paired with a solid performance from Toronto has the Blue Jays in third place in the AL East, a game and a half behind the Tampa Bay Rays for second place and four games back of the Yankees for the division lead.
At this point, the Blue Jays need to make a few big moves if they want to steal the division from the Bronx Bombers, but the opportunity is there for the taking.
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Ryan Helsley is the dream trade target for the Blue Jays
The Blue Jays signed former Philadelphia Phillies All-Star reliever Jeff Hoffman to be the team's new closer, but Hoffman hasn't looked great this season. It's created quite a massive void in the bullpen for an otherwise talented team.
Luckily for Toronto, the St. Louis Cardinals are likely to shop their closer, Ryan Helsley, ahead of the trade deadline and Toronto would be a dream landing spot.
The Blue Jays would need to package quite a prospect haul in order to land Helsley, but they have the prospect capital to do so because of their selling approach at last season's deadline. With Helsley being on an expiring contract, he'll be a bit cheaper to acquire than he would on a longer term deal, but it's still going to be a steep hill to climb for the Blue Jays.
At the end of the day, Toronto needs to make a move like this if its serious about competing with the Yankees. The front office has the money to re-sign the flame thrower in free agency next winter, too, so the expiring contract shouldn't be a catch up in any potential deal.
Landing Sandy Alcántara would be a huge move for Toronto
The Blue Jays need to add a starting pitcher at some point this season after their pitching depth quickly proved to be quite shallow. While the trio of Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman, and Chris Bassitt has proved to be consistent, the Blue Jays haven't had a solid fourth or fifth starting pitcher this season.
That's where the Miami Marlins and ace Sandy Alcántara come into play. Alcántara got off to a horrible start to the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2023, but has since returned to form. He's put together three consecutive solid starts in June, which should provide buyers with enough proof that the ace is going to be fine despite his early struggles.
The Blue Jays have the prospects in their farm system to put together a massive trade package for the righty. The best part about a potential Alcántara deal is the fact that he's under affordable team control for the next few seasons.
This is the exact kind of deal the Blue Jays need to make if they want to give themselves a chance to steal the division and AL pennant.
Trading for Merrill Kelly makes sense for the Blue Jays
While Alcántara would be an expensive and risky option to pursue, the Blue Jays could turn to the Arizona Diamondbacks and veteran pitcher Merrill Kelly if they want a safer trade target.
Kelly, 36, has posted a 2.2 WAR with a 3.39 ERA in 16 starts and 93 innings this season. He's generating a lot of soft contact while striking out nine batters per nine innings to this point. There's no reason to believe his production will drop off at any point and he should be a lot more affordable than Helsley or Alcántara.
Trading for Kelly should be a move the Blue Jays make, but it wouldn't be enough to elevate the team over the Yankees by itself. Toronto would need to continue to make moves aside from adding Kelly if it wants to give itself the best chance possible. Either way, this is the kind of deal the Blue Jays need to make.
Trading for Kyle Stowers would help the Blue Jays a lot
While the first three players on this list would fill voids on the pitching staff, that's not the only spot on the roster that the Blue Jays need to fill this season. Toronto could also afford to look for an outfielder to provide some pop going forward.
While looking at options, it's easy to fall in love with the expiring players. They're likely to be much cheaper to acquire than a controllable piece. But controllable outfielder Kyle Stowers makes more sense than anybody else for the Blue Jays.
Stowers, 27, was traded from the Orioles to the Marlins last season. But the fact that he's already 27 years old, yet still so raw in talent, means he doesn't necessrily line up with the Marlins' winning window. At this point, it's hard to tell when Miami will be competitive again, so trading Stowers isn't out of the picture.
On the season, he's slugged 10 home runs, three triples, and nine doubles with a 118 OPS+. The young slugger doesn't hit free agency until 2030, so he might be a bit expensive to acquire, but this is the kind of risk the Blue Jays need to take if they want to contend at the top of a loaded division for years to come.