The Toronto Blue Jays are in first place in the AL East, against all odds. We're barely halfway through the season, so let's not write definitive conclusions yet, but Toronto is very much trending upward. The New York Yankees, now three games behind Toronto and 3-7 in their last 10 games? Not so much. The Blue Jays own all the momentum in a competitive division.
What does that mean for Ross Atkins' plans at the MLB trade deadline? Well, to the surprise of absolutely no one, the Blue Jays will operate aggressively. There isn't a single more ambitious front office in MLB. The Mets are loaded with cash. The Yankees and Dodgers can sell coastal markets and prestige. But the Blue Jays, time and time again, show they are willing to spend with the MLB heavyweights. Atkins, Mark Shapiro and Toronto's ownership deserve credit for ponying up at every opportunity.
"I do expect that (the Blue Jays are) going to go for it, so to speak," said Ken Rosenthal on Foul Territory.
"I do expect that they're going to go for it, so to speak." 👀@Ken_Rosenthal foreshadows a potentially aggressive trade deadline for the Blue Jays based on how they've acted in the past as buyers. pic.twitter.com/L3g2I9zU9n
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) July 8, 2025
This comes not long after Atkins told reporters that he expects Toronto to "continue to flex that muscle" when asked about the financial support of Blue Jays ownership. So folks, the Jays are going to be looking to spend at the trade deadline. The question is... can they get anything done?
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Ross Atkins, Blue Jays expected to go all-in at the trade deadline
This feels like a new dawn for the Blue Jays. The past few years have been littered with disappointments. Toronto finished second in the Shohei Ohtani sweepstakes. Second in the Juan Soto sweepstakes. They missed out on other big-ticket free agents, like Max Fried, Corbin Burnes and Rōki Sasaki. It has been difficult for the Blue Jays to lure the crème de la crème north of the border, even with hefty paychecks and the unique opportunity to represent an entire country.
But the tides are turning in Toronto's favor. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., after initial skepticism, inked a monumental 14-year, $500 million contract extension to remain in Toronto for the duration of his big-league career. Bo Bichette's future remains unsettled, but Guerrero is the foundation upon which Toronto's success is built. Losing him to free agency would have set the organization back years.
Now Guerrero is there to stay and the Blue Jays are surging in a winnable American League. Toronto is 4.5 games behind Detroit for the best record in MLB. If the season ended today, the Blue Jays would be the No. 3 seed. And the front office never sleeps. Never sits idly as the roster stalls. Say what you will about what Atkins has and hasn't accomplished to date, but he's always trying — always going for it. That is an admirable quality, one a lot of MLB fanbases wish their GMs displayed.
Toronto fans are used to coming in second place at the trade deadline and in free agency. But with a first place record and a franchise superstar under lock and key for the next 14 years, maybe — just maybe — we see Toronto start piecing together big moves at the deadline. If ever there was a time for the Blue Jays to pull out all the stops in pursuit of a World Series, this is the campaign.