Did the Blue Jays Do Enough at the Deadline?

At some point, this is a question that’s going to get exhausting to have to ask. For years, the Toronto Blue Jays have been a team that is tied to the vast majority of the best-available players at the trade deadline and in free agency during the offseason.

We’ve beat the dead horse repeatedly on how frustrating Blue Jays fans have felt watching their club pursue Juan Soto, Shohei Ohtani, and countless other high-end names just to come away with lesser players. Yet, this doesn’t seem to be a fact they’re going to outgrow anytime soon.

At this year’s deadline, Ross Atkins and Co. were said to be pursuing many of the top players available (and not publicly available) on the market. The list of targets consisted of Steven Kwan, Mitch Keller, Cade Smith, Mason Miller, Zac Gallen, Ryan Helsley, Michael Soroka, and a handful of others.

By now, you’re all well aware of the fact that none of those names wound up coming to Toronto via trade.

Unlike the past few offseasons, the Blue Jays didn’t exactly come away with nothing at this year’s deadline. They didn’t shoot for the moon only to come away with Justin Turner and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. However, they also failed to bring in any of the big fish they had their eyes on.

To some, that fact alone could be considered a failure. But to others, the talent that was brought in was perfectly acceptable. Let’s break down the happenings and determine if what they did was enough.

Recapping the Blue Jays’ Deadline Moves

Now that the deadline has come and gone, here’s a look at the big-league names they came away with:

• RHP Shane Bieber
• RHP Louis Varland
• RHP Seranthony Dominguez
• INF Ty France

To be clear, there’s nothing wrong with this group of players. In fact, each of them are going to play crucial roles on this squad down the stretch.

Shane Bieber could very well be a do-or-die playoff starter for the Blue Jays. If he can come back to the big leagues and continue to look like himself, this acquisition will be huge. He’s off to a very promising start in his rehab outings, so that instills a ton of hope.

Seranthony Dominguez was acquired from the division rival Orioles in between doubleheader games a few days ago. The right-hander has high-leverage experience and has a filthy arsenal that’ll fit beautifully in this bullpen. He’s already made his first two appearances for his new club, striking out four and walking in two innings.

Varland and France were acquired in a buzzer-beating deal at the deadline. Losing Kendry Rojas and Alan Roden is tough to swallow for Blue Jays’ prospect huggers, but Varland is disgusting (in the best way) on the mound, and France could very well be the right-handed bat the Blue Jays needed. Even though he isn’t as shiny as some of the other players the club reportedly looked into, he’ll do.

Was It Enough?

The problem with the moves made by the Blue Jays is that they did what they always do: pursue the biggest names on the trade and free-agent markets only to come away with players who are generally viewed as a tier or two below the rest.

The team’s beat writers – as well as many others on a national level – report that the Blue Jays are looking into superstar-caliber players, which does nothing but get fans’ hopes up. Toronto’s fanbase has gone through so much over the past few years with getting hopes up only to be let down.

That’s not to say that the group of players they acquired over the past few days will be disappointing, but the fact of the matter is that neither reliever they got is on the same level as Duran or Smith. France is not on the same level as a hitter like Kwan is.

Looking at it from a place of positivity, the Blue Jays were able to add two legitimate weapons to a bullpen that has now gone from great to elite. Their offense only truly needed minor upgrades around the edges with Daulton Varsho and Anthony Santander eventually returning to the lineup.

So, in a way, the Blue Jays did what they set out to do, even if it wasn’t on the grand and sexy scale many anticipated it’d be.

The bigger issue is the fact that multiple other teams in the division went out and were very active, especially the New York Yankees. We’ll have a whole lot more coverage coming on their moves in the next few days, but the Yankees, who are only 3.5 games behind the Blue Jays in the standings, added three high-leverage arms to their bullpen while adding three bench pieces and their new starting third baseman.

When comparing the two clubs, the hauls are pretty similar, but it’s hard not to see what the Yankees accomplished at the deadline and feel like the Blue Jays could’ve done just a hair more.

Closing Thoughts

It’s been obvious for a while now that the trade deadline will dictate how things shake out in the AL East this year. The Blue Jays and Yankees both needed to be active, and they were, but it feels like the Bronx Bombers might’ve edged the Jays out by a slim margin.

There’s still a ton of baseball to be played, and the Blue Jays should be trying to widen that gap in the division while Aaron Judge is out of commission, so it’s anyone’s guess how things will look once the season is over.

Ross Atkins won’t be able to say he didn’t try, but ultimately it feels like the Blue Jays could’ve used one big-name acquisition more than what they came away with. At the very least, he can say that his team is better than they were 48 hours ago.