Bold Blue Jays ticket email could hint at a trade deadline fire sale
The Toronto Blue Jays are in a rough spot. They're a team with tons of talent on paper, but they've been one of the most disappointing teams in the league thus far. At 33-35, the Blue Jays are in fourth place in the AL East and are 3.5 games out of a Wild Card spot. The biggest reason for that has to do with their underperforming offense which ranks 26th in the majors in runs scored and tied for 26th in home runs.
The Jays haven't shown that they're a team capable of even making the postseason, let alone making a deep run in October, but they're also only 3.5 games out of a playoff spot. They're a winning streak away from being right in the thick of the postseason race.
Despite that, Blue Jays season ticket holders received an email that certainly hints at the possibility of the team being trade deadline sellers.
Blue Jays ticket email hints at very real possibility of the team being open to trade deadline fire sale
Heard from some Blue Jays season ticket holders who got their 2025 renewal notices via email this afternoon. Typically first payments for the following year are required in August or September. This year it’s July 22, (eight days before the trade deadline).
— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) June 14, 2024
On the surface, this news isn't anything crazy. All that happened is the Blue Jays moved the requirements for the first payment of season ticket packages earlier in the calendar. When looking a bit deeper, the date Toronto chose happens to be eight days before the trade deadline.
The Blue Jays are asking their fans to commit to renewing season tickets for the 2025 campaign before the trade deadline even happens. In recent years, fans made their first payment in August after the deadline or even in September. Let's put our thinking caps on. Why would the Jays do this?
Well, this strategy certainly doesn't imply that the team is buying. If they acquire a big name at the trade deadline, wouldn't even more fans be interested in renewing their season tickets?
What this email hints at is the possibility of Toronto selling. Obviously nothing is set in stone, but this certainly feels like the organization trying to get fans committed before eventually at the very least considering trades for franchise players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette. The Jays have said they have no interest in trading either player, but with both of them set to hit free agency after the 2025 campaign, if they're going to deal them at all, now is the best time to do so.
If an offer is too good to pass on, Toronto should certainly take it. Even if the Jays get multiple top prospects for either or both players, that's not the kind of trade that will get fans to renew season tickets for 2025. By getting fans to commit before the deadline, Toronto can know that fans are bought in before they explore the possibility of making a potential franchise-altering deal that season ticket holders won't love.
feed