The Toronto Blue Jays are 20 games above .500 and 5.5 games ahead of the second-place New York Yankees in the AL East. After years of turbulence and uncertainty, Toronto is finally in a position to press deep into the playoffs and make a run to the World Series. After failed free agent courtships with Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani, among others, the Blue Jays are right there. Now is the time for GM Ross Atkins to operate with the appropriate aggressiveness.
There are several holes Toronto should attempt to fill prior to the July 31 trade deadline. Both third base and second base are positions of need, while another postseason-caliber starter behind José Berríos and Kevin Guasman would go a long way. That said, the most realistic path to improvement is a trade or two focused on the bullpen, where just about every contender wants to upgrade.
Toronto will face a competitive marketplace for the top relievers, but the right prospect package can hand the Blue Jays the ammo they need for a long and fruitful postseason. Of the potential trade partners, none stand out more than the Minnesota Twins, a fading small-market club with two of the very best relievers in baseball at their disposal.
Here is how the Jays can add both Jhoan Durán and Griffin Jax.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the Discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
This Blue Jays-Twins trade would put Jhoan Durán, Griffin Jax in Toronto
With such a strong market for relievers, the Twins are operating from a position of leverage and strength here. We can bet Minnesota will ask for top-100 prospects across the board, but it's unclear if any teams are willing to go that route for bullpen arms. Even bullpen arms as electric and Durán and Jax, who are two of the best in MLB, period.
Both Durán and Jax are under contract through 2027, meaning the Twins face very little pressure to pull the trigger on a deal unless it's undeniable in quality. Toronto does not sacrifice its very best prospects here, but Khal Stephen and Kendry Rojas — a pair of 22-year-olds with Double-A New Hampshire right now — are both trending up in a big way. Minnesota gets a pair of future starters, a righty and a lefty, to mold in their strong development program, along with a potential utility bat in 20 year-old Sam Shaw.
Blue Jays vault to top of American League with Jhoan Durán, Griffin Jax
In terms of fWAR and other impact metrics, Durán and Jax both rank among the most productive relievers of the last couple seasons.
This has been a horridly unlucky season for Jax, whose 4.00 ERA does not do justice to his incredible swing-and-miss stuff. He's in the 99th percentile for both strikeout and whiff rate. It's only a matter of time until Jax's ERA regresses to the mean and the numbers start to mirror his elite talent. A better situation in Toronto, will more help in the field and at the plate, should amplify Jax quite well.
As for Durán, there's not much to say that hasn't been said. He has a nutty 1.86 ERA and 1.14 WHIP through 48.1 innings. He has 16 saves under his belt. With a fastball in the triple digits and a splinker that dances through the bottom of the zone, Durán is arguably the most dominant closer in MLB right now.
Jeff Hoffman and Chad Green have both underperformed in the Blue Jays pen this season. Yariel Rodriguez, Brendon Little and Braydon Fisher have done a lot to stabilize Toronto's relief efforts, but adding Durán and Jax to the mix would give the Blue Jays arguably the best top-to-bottom bullpen in the American League. That's a huge asset come October.