After busiest Deadline in years, all eyes turn to '25 and beyond
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BALTIMORE -- This isn¡¯t what the Blue Jays wanted to be doing on July 30.
They¡¯re stuck standing outside, watching everyone else have fun through the window. This Blue Jays team was built to make a postseason run, which should have included a couple of big moves at the Trade Deadline to load up for October.
Instead, the Blue Jays set up shop and sold. Gone are Yimi Garc¨ªa, Nate Pearson, Danny Jansen, Justin Turner, Yusei Kikuchi, Trevor Richards, Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Kevin Kiermaier.
"I¡¯m disappointed that we¡¯re here, it¡¯s unacceptable that we¡¯re here and I¡¯m sorry to our fans for that,¡± said general manager Ross Atkins soon after Tuesday¡¯s Deadline, as the Blue Jays fell 6-2 to the Orioles.
In many ways, though, the death of this season has already been mourned. It¡¯s been a slow death, stretched and teased across four months, but the fact the Blue Jays sold at the Deadline came as a surprise to no one. Sure, the incredible package they got back from the Astros for Kikuchi and the decision to move Kiner-Falefa raised some eyebrows, but both for the right reasons.
The Blue Jays, living in the reality they¡¯ve put themselves in, had to make the most of it.
¡°We did not want to be at this point where we are, trading players away,¡± Atkins reiterated. ¡°It¡¯s a disappointing time in my career and where we are as an organization, but we switched to getting better and switched to focusing on reshaping the group that is here, an already very talented group that we want to build around. We feel that we¡¯ve done so, adding players who are close to the Major League or in the Major Leagues who can help us win more baseball games in the coming years.¡±
It¡¯s all about the future now, but not a distant, hypothetical future. The Blue Jays aren¡¯t crossing their fingers and hoping to win the lottery five years down the road. This organization needs to win in 2025, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette still leading this lineup, with Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt and Jos¨¦ Berr¨ªos still leading that rotation.
¡°That was our goal, to do that as soon as possible and to retool this already talented group, to ensure that in 2025, ¡¯26 and hopefully beyond that, we¡¯re competing and contending,¡± Atkins said.
There¡¯s a clear group of prospects from this Trade Deadline who can help immediately, led by right-hander Jake Bloss (No. 3 prospect) and outfielder Joey Loperfido, who the Blue Jays got in the Kikuchi deal, and outfielder Jonatan Clase (No. 8), from the Garc¨ªa deal.
Even if Bloss had been the lone player coming back for Kikuchi, that would have been good business for the Blue Jays, but the inclusion of Loperfido put it over the top. He¡¯s up with the Blue Jays now and will have every opportunity to take a regular job and run with it. If he takes the left field job heading into next season and flashes that incredible offensive upside, Toronto¡¯s offseason gets a lot easier.
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Clase will be part of that, too. Fresh off a 79-steal season in the Minors, he¡¯s an elite athlete with what Atkins calls the biggest upside of any player they acquired at the Deadline. Bloss, meanwhile, who could join the Blue Jays soon, has the talent to be a mid-rotation starter as early as next season.
Now, the Blue Jays need more. Way more. If we¡¯re talking about 2025, this club will need rotation depth, several relievers, a catcher and a couple of bats. Ross Atkins¡¯ business isn¡¯t exactly done here.
¡°This was the first step towards that,¡± Atkins said. ¡°There are several ways to make acquisitions, which we will continue to have to do. We¡¯re going to have to add in free agency and via trade. We just increased the likelihood of doing that by creating more depth and increased flexibility. The versatility and the dynamic athleticism that we¡¯ve acquired to complement the pieces who are here was a big part of our goal. We feel we¡¯ve accomplished that.¡±
That¡¯s why this time of year can be so strange as a seller. There¡¯s a small, sudden burst of optimism injected into a season that¡¯s been so frustrating otherwise.
It¡¯s not hard to see the wins in this Deadline for the Blue Jays, though, even if they were brought here by losses.