Former MLB Exec Proposes Trade That Lands Blue Jays Their Starting Pitcher Upgrade
The Toronto Blue Jays are right in the thick of the playoff race in the American League.
Only three games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East, they are currently holding down the second wild card spot where they are just a half-game behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the first and two games clear of the teams chasing them.
Entering play on June 20, Baseball Reference gives the Blue Jays a 50.6% chance to make the postseason.
Virtually a coin flip, the next few weeks are going to be incredibly important for them.
As long as they remain anywhere close to the race, they are going to be buyers ahead of the MLB trade deadline, with a clear need: pitching.
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Toronto has been ravaged by injuries and ineffectiveness from some of their starting pitchers.
Max Scherzer, the future Hall of Famer who signed a one-year, $15.5 million deal in free agency, has not pitched since his season debut because of injury.
Bowden Francis, who showed promise in 2024, struggled mightily in 2025 before landing on the injured list himself.
The Blue Jays have been relying heavily on Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt and Jose Berrios to anchor the rotation. Francis, albeit underperforming, was at least making starts, because the No. 5 spot has been a revolving door.
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Seven other players have started at least one game for Toronto thus far this season, and that number may increase now that Francis is sidelined.
To make it through the second half of the campaign, the Blue Jays need reinforcements in the rotation, which is exactly what Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required) has proposed.
In a recent piece, the former MLB executive pitched one difference making trade for each AL team that remains in the race.
For Toronto, he has proposed acquiring starting pitcher Merrill Kelly from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for left-handed pitcher Kendry Rojas and second baseman Sam Shaw.
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Like the Blue Jays, the Diamondbacks have shown no signs of being ready to sell this year. But if they fall out of contention, they are going to be a popular team with some of the trade chips they possess.
Kelly is one of them.
Set to be a free agent after the year, it would be a shrewd move for Arizona to move him ahead of the deadline. He has made it clear he would love to finish his career with the Diamondbacks, creating a unique opportunity to cash in on his value now and then re-sign him over the winter.
Kelly has flown under the radar as a consistently productive starting pitcher the last few years with bWAR of 3.8 and 4.0 in 2022 and 2023 before an injury-riddled 2024.
He is back on track in 2025 with a 2.1 bWAR and 3.41 ERA across 15 starts and 87 innings pitched.
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