Toronto Blue Jays Ace Could Become Top Prize at Trade Deadline if Team Sells

The Toronto Blue Jays could have one of the top trade chips if they become sellers.

Apr 22, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Chris Bassitt (40) delivers a pitch during the fifth inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Toronto Blue Jays are in the midst of a five-game losing streak and have a massive series coming up against the New York Yankees.

Despite a nice start to the season, the Blue Jays have slipped as of late with back-to-back series losses against American League West foes, the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros.

Now, they have fallen under .500 in the blink of an eye.

While it is still very early and the team can turn things around, the AL East is going to be challenging to compete in this year, and the Blue Jays must be realistic about their chances.

If the Blue Jays do fall out of contention, they will have some appealing pieces to trade away if they choose to do so.

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently wrote about Chris Bassitt being an intriguing trade chip if the team begins to struggle and decides to sell.

“His 1.02 FIP leads all qualified starters by a wide margin. If the Blue Jays fall out of the AL East race early, he could be one of the prizes of this year's trade deadline.”

One of the reasons for the early success of the franchise in 2025 has been the performance of Bassitt.

The talented right-hander has had an excellent start to the campaign, totaling a 2-1 record and 1.88 ERA. Even though it is early, he has been arguably the best pitcher in baseball thus far.

At 36 years old, Bassitt likely won't fit into any long-term plans for Toronto beyond this season, so if they continue to struggle, moving him at the deadline makes sense.

Toronto is hoping they will compete in 2025. They don’t want to be sellers after the strong offseason that they had. However, they will need some other players to start stepping up for them, especially in the lineup.

Both Anthony Santander and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are off to slow starts in terms of slugging, and that needs to improve.

Bassitt could bring back a nice haul at the trade deadline if things get to that point. And after locking Guerrero up with a long-term extension, the franchise must be smart to build a roster around their star player.

Trading a pitcher of Bassitt's caliber could result in a top prospect coming back who could help for years to come.