Blue Jays Face Major Hurdles Moving Two Veterans at Trade Deadline
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This isn’t the place where the Toronto Blue Jays thought they were going to be at this point in the season, as they are well under .500 and now will be sellers, rather than buyers, at this trade deadline, as their comeback run was torpedoed in the first half of the season.
That being said, the team will be looking to move some of the heart and soul of their roster as their contracts will expire at the end of this season, meaning the organization can get a decent return for key guys like designated hitter George Springer and starting pitcher Shane Bieber.
Bieber and Springer won’t be the only ones the Jays look to deal in the coming days, but these two might be the most difficult and for completely different reasons.
There isn’t a person with access to the internet who doesn’t know the full-blown come-apart Bieber had in his last start against the Washington Nationals, where he didn’t get out of the first inning, which drastically plummeted his stock.
Springer’s situation involves several factors, one being that he is a right-handed designated hitter, which is not in high demand around the league. Additionally, he has an eight-team no-trade clause, further limiting his options.
On top of the lack of need for a righty in the lineup, there is a concern surrounding the fact that Springer will turn 37 when September rolls around. That being said, his recent performance should easily quiet those worries.
Springer’s Triumphs and Bieber’s Woes
If the Blue Jays can find a suitor for Springer, the return will be better than what it would have been six weeks ago, as he is finally trending in a monumental positive direction, hitting over .330 in his last seven games and slugging a monstrous .593.
Critics would say that is a small sample size, but in his last 15 games, he is slashing .288/.354/.525, which has his OPS creeping up on .900. At the end of the day, it is going to be the logistics that keep him returning a big haul, and not his performance at the plate.
Meanwhile, Bieber is coming off easily the worst start of his career after allowing six walks in one inning, which is unfortunate as his command had really locked in as he went a combined 13 innings in a pair of games prior with a measly unearned run.
Unfortunately, nobody can forget what happened down in Washington, and it could not have come at a worse time for either him or the ballclub.
At the end of the day, the low demand for Springer’s position and Bieber’s complete meltdown will make the pair difficult to move, which isn’t ideal given the position that Toronto finds itself in at this deadline.
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Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.