Blue Jays Trade Assets Are Slumping Near the Deadline

The Toronto Blue Jays are officially in seller mode at the 2024 trade deadline.

The club started things off by sending reliever Yimi García to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for prospects Jonatan Clase and Jacob Sharp. García is eligible for free agency at the end of this season, while Clase was Just Baseball’s No. 9 prospect in the Mariners’ system.

MLB Pipeline now ranks him No. 7 in the Jays organization.

García was one of the Jays’ more intriguing trade options this summer. The right-hander stepped up for Toronto when the likes of Jordan Romano, Erik Swanson, Chad Green, and Tim Mayza either spent time on the IL or struggled to replicate the same success they found in 2023.

While he, too, found himself briefly on the shelf with a minor elbow ailment, the Mexico native was a force while he was healthy for the Blue Jays, amassing a 2.70 ERA through 30 innings while posting a 12.6 K/9 and five saves.

Not long after, the Blue Jays traded Danny Jansen to the Red Sox in exchange for prospects Cutter Coffey, Eddinson Paulino, and Gilberto Batista.

Jansen was a prominent presence behind the plate earlier in the season, but he has struggled with a bat in his hands since the start of June.

The backstop began the season on the IL after taking a pitch on the wrist during spring training. Once he got started, however, he was batting well out of the gate, posting a .287/.371/.535 slash line through the end of May.

Since June began, the righty batter has seen a dramatic decline. Through 93 at-bats, Jansen owns a .129/.234/.194 slash line with just one home run and four RBIs, posting a .427 OPS with 23 strikeouts in the process.

He will take his walks at the plate (11 since June 1) and won’t chase outside the zone (94th percentile in chase rate on the season), but when he has put the ball in play, he just hasn’t been finding any holes for the ball to drop.

Ultimately, catching depth is almost always going to be a hot commodity at the trade deadline, but Jansen’s troubles at the plate over the past two months may have hurt his value.

While the Jansen deal is done, the Blue Jay might be worried that some of their other trade chips are struggling too. This includes the likes of southpaw Yusei Kikuchi, DH Justin Turner, OF Kevin Kiermaier, and reliever Trevor Richards.

Kikuchi was dominant through the first two months of the season, with the Japanese pitcher putting forth a 3.25 ERA through his first 11 outings. He produced a 2.85 FIP with 61 strikeouts and just 13 free passes allowed.

The lefty was holding opposing batters to a .666 OPS and throwing strikes at a 66% rate, commanding the strike zone as one of the Jays’ go-to rotation arms.

Since the start of June, however, that trend has trailed in the opposite direction.

Kikuchi has authored a 6.12 ERA through his past ten outings and has allowed 34 earned runs through 50 innings of work. While the strikeouts are still there (64) as well as his command (15 walks), opposing batters have been seeing the ball better, posting a .365 BABIP and a .829 OPS through the past two months.

Still, any team looking for a strike-throwing southpaw will likely be giving the Jays a call. Kikuchi has plenty of positive attributes as a capable mid-rotation starter, even if his recent downturn has brought down his trade value.

Trevor Richards, entering his fourth season with the Blue Jays after he was acquired at the 2021 trade deadline from the Milwaukee Brewers, has also struggled recently.

The right-hander’s calling card has been his high strikeout rates, as the silver-haired 31-year-old has produced a lot of swing-and-miss with his plus changeup.

Through the first three months of the 2024 season, Richards was practically unhittable on the mound, amassing a 3.62 FIP with 40 strikeouts through 42 innings of work. He allowed just 20 hits and 16 walks through the end of June and was a go-to arm for the Jays, pitching in the later innings but also early in games when the club needed his arm to get them out of a jam.

That all changed in July, with the veteran reliever looking like a shade of his former self on the mound through the dog days of summer. Over his last nine outings, Richards has allowed 16 hits and 15 earned runs – almost the same amount of hits and three more earned runs than what he put up the three months prior.

His ERA in July is 16.20, and he has also allowed three home runs compared to just eight strikeouts, with opponents seemingly adjusting to his approach on the mound.

With the Blue Jays turning from playoff contenders to sellers in short order, the 2024 campaign has been a huge disappointment for the fanbase. The front office is now shifting its focus to the 2025 season with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette under contract for one more year.

There is no doubt the team will look different on July 31. García and Jansen have already been moved, while Kikuchi, Richards, Turner, and Kiermaier are all likely on the block and might be wearing new uniforms shortly.

While the likes of Turner and Kiermaier have struggled to find consistency for a good portion of the season, it is unfortunate timing for the front office that Kikuchi and Richards (and Jansen) are performing under expectations at the least opportune time.

The Blue Jays front office has pulled off two big trades before the deadline. Will they be just as successful with their remaining players on the trade block?

Stats updated prior to games on July 27.