Trade Deadline Wrap-Up

Trade Deadline day is almost always one of the most disappointing days of the year. Whether you’re disappointed because of the players that went out, or with the players who came in, or the moves that could have been made and weren’t, there’s something for everyone today.
Let’s have a look at what went down in the Blue Jays world on the 2021 trade deadline.
To Oakland: Starling Marte
To Miami: Jesus Luzardo
Impact on The Blue Jays: Oakland is currently the team Toronto is chasing in the second Wild Card spot, and Marte is a bonafide star outfielder both at the plate and in the field. The Blue Jays were likely not in on Marte, with such a loaded outfield and the acquisition cost would have been too high for them if they were. Jesus Luzardo has struggled at the major league level, but he’s no doubt a promising young piece comparable to Nate Pearson from The Blue Jays who has also had his own trials and tribulations at the Major League level.
To New York: Joey Gallo, John King
To Texas: Everson Pereira, Trevor Hauver, Josh Smith, Ezequiel Duran, Randy Vazquez, Glenn Otto
Impact …

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Author: DeuceDoucette / Blue Jays Nation

Blue Jays acquire Jose Berrios for Simeon Woods Richardson and Austin Martin

THINGS ARE HAPPENING!!! AHHHHHHHH!

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Blue Jays have acquired right-handed starting pitcher Jose Berrios from the Minnesota Twins…

Berríos to Blue Jays, source tells @TheAthletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2021

Berrios is a two-time All-Star and has been Minnesota’s top starter over the past few years. This season, he’s made 20 starts, has tossed 121 2/3 innings, has a 3.48 ERA, and is striking out 9.3 batters per nine while walking 2.4 per nine. He’s also under control for one more season before he can hit free agency.
It looks like Austin Martin, last year’s No. 5 overall pick, and Simeon Woods Richardson, the high-upside arm that the team got in the Marcus Stroman deal two years ago, is the return going back to Minnesota…

SS/CF Austin Martin and RHP Simeon Woods-Richardson are headed back to the Twins for Jose Berrios, sources tell ESPN. Wow. That is a massive haul for a year and a half of Berrios.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 30, 2021

That’s… certainly a lot to give up! Martin is Toronto’s No. 2 prospect according to MLB Pipeline and Woods Richards ranks No. 4.
The two of them have been playing for the Double-A Fisher Cats this …

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

The Blue Jays have reportedly acquired Jose Berrios from the Twins

THINGS ARE HAPPENING!!! AHHHHHHHH!

According to Ken Rosenthal, the Blue Jays have acquired right-handed starting pitcher Jose Berrios from the Minnesota Twins…

Berríos to Blue Jays, source tells @TheAthletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 30, 2021

Berrios is a two-time All-Star and has been Minnesota’s top starter over the past few years. This season, he’s made 20 starts, has tossed 121 2/3 innings, has a 3.48 ERA, and is striking out 9.3 batters per nine while walking 2.4 per nine. He’s also under control for one more season before he can hit free agency.
It looks like Simeon Woods Richardson, the high-upside arm that Toronto acquired a couple of years ago in the Marcus Stroman trade, is going back to Minnesota…

Simeon Woods-Richardson is part of the deal going to Twins, source says.
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 30, 2021

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

Getting to know Blue Jays prospect Sem Robberse

Want a list of all MLB players that have played from the Netherlands proper who pitched 500 innings or had 1000 plate appearances since the colour barrier was broken?

Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven and Didi Gregorius.
While there are many notable players from the Dutch Antilles (Curaçao and Aruba), it’s safe to say that baseball is not a priority sport in the Netherlands. Quite frankly I could have left this paragraph blank and you’d get the point. The Netherlands produces high-quality footballers, it’s not quite so easy to find a notable baseball player from Holland.
So, you may be asking why I’m talking about a non-baseball European country in a Blue Jays Nation article and it boils down to the Blue Jays’ ability to find high potential prospects on the International Free Agent market. Sem Robberse may be one of those players in the eventual future.
2019 IFA signings:
If you know me or follow me on Twitter, I rant and rave about the Blue Jays and their success on the International Free Agent market. They went shopping in 2018, signing a potential generational talent in Orelvis Martinez. The next season they followed that up by signing relief …

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Author: Brennan Delaney / Blue Jays Nation

Royals vs Blue Jays 07/30/21 – Odds and MLB Betting Trends

by OddsShark (@OddsShark) – Sponsored Post
How well the Toronto Blue Jays adapt to playing at Rogers Centre is a wild card, but there is some certainty with respect to the road struggles of their first opponent. The Blue Jays are -205 home favorites and the Kansas City Royals are +175 road underdogs with a 10.5-run total on the MLB odds for Friday at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Blue Jays, who are playing their first game in Toronto since September 2019, are 11-4 in their last 15 home games when they closed below -175 on the moneyline (how the moneyline works). The total has gone OVER in nine of those 15 matchups. They are also 15-5 in their last 20 regular-season games against the Royals, although the last such matchup was on July 1, 2019. The Royals are 6-14 in their last 20 away games as an underdog of +150 or more, with eight of the last 10 such matchups finishing OVER at betting sites.
Royals vs Blue Jays | OddsShark Matchup Report
The Royals have a 45-56 record. They are 23rd among the 30 MLB teams in offense at 4.19 runs per game, and rank 22nd in OPS (.700). Since the all-star break, Jorge Soler (1.181 OPS since July 16), Hunter Dozier (.948) and Salvador …

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Author: Nation World HQ / Blue Jays Nation

BJN Radio – Ep. 33: A Split at Fenway, trade deadline talk, catching up with the new-look Yankees, and more!

All things considered, that was a pretty good week.

The Blue Jays rolled into Fenway and took two of four from the first-place team in the American League. They suffered a heartbreaker on Monday, the game was rained out on Tuesday, Robbie Ray guided the team to a win with an ace start on Wednesday, Steven Matz had a tough go in the night cap, and then the bats exploded for 13 runs in the finale on Friday.
All said, two out of four ain’t bad. It doesn’t move the needle in terms of catching Boston, but it keeps them in the mix for the wild-card and it ensures that Friday’s homecoming won’t be a bummer.
Anyways! With Tyler still lost in the woods and BK on a flight from B.C. to Toronto, I tackled talking about the Boston series ALL BY MYSELF. I also talked about the acquisition of Brad Hand from Washington and where he fits in the team’s bullpen along with the rumour that the Blue Jays are in the mix for Jose Berrios.
Finally, I welcomed Neil Keefe to the show to talk about the New York Yankees, who just had …

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

Oh boy, the Yankees have acquired Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo

The New York Yankees are going all in.

On Wednesday, the team acquired slugger Joey Gallo from the Texas Rangers in exchange for a fairly underwhelming package of prospects. Today, they continued adding to their lineup, acquiring Anthony Rizzo from the Chicago Cubs.

Source confirms: Anthony Rizzo headed to Yankees. First: @JackCurryYES.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 29, 2021

New York’s season has been a nightmare so far. The team sits 53-48 after getting smashed by the Tampa Bay Rays by a score of 14-0 on Thursday afternoon. They’re nine games back of the Boston Red Sox for the division and they’re three games back of the Oakland A’s for the second wild-card seed.
The team’s struggles have largely come down to a pretty limp-dick offence as this year’s rendition of the Yankees looks nothing like the scary lineup we’ve seen in previous years. New York has the sixth-fewest runs per game in baseball, ahead of only the Cardinals, Marlins, Mets, Rangers, and Pirates.
Adding both Gallo, who has a .223/.379/.490 slash line, and Rizzo, who has a .248/.346/.446 slash line, is obviously a game-changer for New York’s righty heavy lineup, which had previously featured Rougned …

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

The Blue Jays have acquired pitcher Brad Hand from the Nationals in exchange for Riley Adams

The Blue Jays’ bullpen certainly needed a Hand. HEYYYYOOOOO!

According to Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post, the Blue Jays have acquired left-handed reliever Brad Hand from the Washington Nationals. Apparently, it’ll be catcher Riley Adams going back to Washington in exchange…

Source: The Nationals have traction on a deal that will send Brad Hand to the Blue Jays.
— Jesse Dougherty (@dougherty_jesse) July 29, 2021

The Blue Jays are acquiring LHP Brad Hand from the Nationals for Triple-A C Riley Adams, per source. @dougherty_jesse was first with the news.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) July 29, 2021

Hand originally came up with the Florida/Miami Marlins as a starting pitcher but converted into a bullpen role after being selected by the San Diego Padres off of waivers.
In 2016, Hand broke out as a very effective bullpen arm, leading baseball in appearances and posting a 2.92 ERA. He then made back-to-back All-Star appearances in 2017 and 2018 and was traded to Cleveland along with Adam Cimber in exchange for Francisco Mejia.
In 2020, Hand had an excellent season with Cleveland, posting a 2.05 ERA over 23 appearances and led baseball with 16 saves. He struck out 11.9 batters per nine and walked just 1.6 per nine. Despite that, Cleveland didn’t pick up …

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

The Blue Jays have apparently had trade talks about Joey Gallo and Richard Rodriguez

Wouldn’t it be nice if the Blue Jays’ return to Toronto was accentuated by a big pre-trade deadline splash?

Major League Baseball’s trade deadline is on Friday at 4 p.m. ET, just three hours before the team hosts the Kansas City Royals for their first game at Rogers Centre in nearly two years.
The Blue Jays are 10.5 games back of the Boston Red Sox for the American League East, so it’s safe to say that unless they go ahead and win their next three games, they’re probably out of that race. But they’re very much so still alive in the wild-card race, as they’re four-and-a-half back of the Oakland A’s for the fifth and final playoff spot in the AL.
As I said yesterday, I don’t think the Blue Jays are in a spot to go all-in and acquire a bunch of rentals for a big World Series push. Instead, they’re best off looking for deals that can not only help them make a playoff push this year, but also in the future.
Based on today’s reports, it seems that’s the plan.
According to Jon Morosi and others, the …

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

A Fortnight On The Farm: Volume Six

This is a sort of fascinating time for a minor league check in, particularly with the major league squad considering themselves contenders. Five days remain in which there may be a flurry of trades which will potentially shuffle the situation of some of these teams. Those left standing a week from now may find that promotions are about to ensue (we’ve already seen a few) and the organization will be looking to see who needs a fresh challenge down the stretch.

Buffalo via Trenton (for the last time)
More and more Jays fans, quite rightly, are banging the drum for SS Kevin Smith to be promoted and while you have to give props to Santiago Espinal for his work at 3B, if the Jays are looking to add a bat (Ramirez, if I’m dreaming, or Bryant, Escobar, some such) and fail then a guy who can supplement 3B and had 18 homers in his 66 AAA games on the record already is hard to ignore. I’m assuming he won’t be added to the 40 before the trade deadline (if at all) but if he’s not part of a deal, there will be every reason to get him up …

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Author: Tammy Rainey / Blue Jays Nation