The Blue Jays have won five of their previous six games, but they remain below.500 with a 28-30 record, a couple percentage points behind the Rays for last place in the AL East. As Darragh McDonald stated in a post for MLBTR last week, the club will face some difficult decisions leading up to the trade deadline, and maybe in the long run if the Jays do not heat up quickly.
If Toronto decides to sell at the deadline, trading Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Bo Bichette would be the most significant move. The duo have been the faces of this era of Blue Jays baseball, but because both are set to become free agents after the 2025 season, it is unclear whether either will remain in Toronto indefinitely – whether due to the Jays’ overall struggles or the team’s own reluctance to make a significant financial commitment to players with inconsistent performance.
In either case, Jays GM Ross Atkins pushed back against the idea of a Guerrero/Bichette trade in an interview Sunday on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, stating that the Blue Jays “believe in their futures and hope that there is a way they can play here for a long time.” In terms of potential extensions, Atkins stated that “of course we have dialogue with them” about such multi-year contracts and that “that is something that will continue.”
This belief would seem to rule out the possibility of Guerrero or Bichette being traded at the deadline. Atkins was “disappointed” by a recent article from MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, which highlighted a remark from an unnamed AL official who indicated Toronto wasn’t “opposed to” trading one of their two centerpieces, and that they had “talked to teams about it,” but “the asks were ridiculous.”
Atkins would not deny that some discussions regarding Guerrero and Bichette had taken place with other front offices, but only in the sense that the other teams were floating the notion of a trade, not the Jays.
“It doesn’t make sense to us…”There will be moments when you’re talking to other executives and they’ll ask whether we’ll consider it,” Atkins said of the trade rumors, “and we’ll simply say that’s not anything we’ve spent any effort on. Because they are so talented and such excellent teammates, they are appealing to other clubs, therefore [others] will call.”
It is normal practice for executives to check in on all types of players as part of their due diligence, in case a rival team is willing to move a player who is not known to be available or if such a player is available for a lower-than-expected price. Technically, a trade that “doesn’t make any sense for” Atkins and the Blue Jays in early June could become a lot more reasonable if the team is still struggling in late July, and some early groundwork laid by an interested suitor could make them Atkins’ first call at the deadline if the Jays change direction.
Nonetheless, Atkins expressed faith that his team’s fortunes would improve, noting that the two players had improved their hitting since April’s poor performance. Guerrero, in particular, has been hot, hitting.366/.458/.475 in 118 plate appearances and 26 games from May 1 to June 1, despite only hitting two home runs during that time. Bichette has also had a.318/.356/.471 slash line in his last 90 PA.
Despite the two players’ success, the Blue Jays as a whole have struggled to score runs. George Springer has continued to struggle, Daulton Varsho has cooled off after a strong April, and Guerrero and Bichette’s improvements have been offset by Justin Turner’s bat suddenly becoming cold during the last month. Overall, the Jays rank at the bottom of the league in terms of hitting with runners in scoring position.
With offensive production at a premium, the Jays’ lineup on Sunday took an unexpected turn when Guerrero returned to third base. Guerrero made his MLB debut as a third baseman in 2019, but hasn’t played the position since, except for two late-game appearances at the hot corner.
Atkins explained that using Guerrero at third base was a collaborative effort to create more offense in the lineup. Following Sunday’s 5-4 win over the Pirates, manager John Schneider told Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and other reporters that Guerrero might potentially play one out of every five or six games at third base. Turner or Daniel Vogelbach could then play first base or DH, or one of the Jays’ two catchers (Danny Jansen or Alejandro Kirk) might have a DH day while the other backstop is in the lineup and behind the plate.
After Matt Chapman left in free agency, Ernie Clement and offseason signee Isiah Kiner-Falefa have more or less split playing time at third base this season, with Turner, Cavan Biggio, Addison Barger, and now Guerrero making sporadic appearances. Kiner-Falefa has also seen a significant amount of action at second base, and he has performed admirably in this near everyday job. Not only does IKF provide his usual great defense, but he also hits.268/.315/.399 in 182 PA, resulting in a career-high 105 wRC+.
