The Blue Jays continue to look for controllable upgrades all over their roster, and two of the trade deadline’s most-discussed names are on Toronto’s radar. MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reports that the Jays are one of the teams who have spoken with the Rangers about slugger Joey Gallo, while the Jays and Phillies are among the clubs looking at Pirates right-hander Richard Rodriguez, according to Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The Jays were initially linked to Rodriguez last month, and it isn’t surprising that Toronto continues to have interest considering that the team’s bullpen has continued to struggle. Despite a +85 run differential, the Blue Jays have a modest 49-47 record due in large part to their 6-12 record in one-run games — a by-product of several blown late leads by a bullpen depleted by injuries. The Toronto front office has tried to address the problem by acquiring Adam Cimber and Trevor Richards in trades within the last month, though an argument can certainly be made that more reinforcements are necessary.
That said, Rodriguez has struggled in July after a very strong start to the season, so he isn’t exactly putting on the best showcase in advance of the July 30 trade deadline. What helps his trade value, however, is that Rodriguez is controlled through the 2023 season via two more arbitration years. Even with some saves boosting his arbitration resume, the righty will remain pretty inexpensive at least into 2022 considering that Rodriguez is playing on a $1.7MM salary in 2021.
Entering today’s action, the Blue Jays were 10.5 games behind the Red Sox for first place in the AL East, and nine games back of the Rays for both second place and the first AL wild card slot. Even in chasing the Athletics for the second wild card berth, 4.5. games and two other teams (the Mariners and Yankees) stand between Toronto and the A’s, so the Jays will need to heat up to get more firmly back into the postseason hunt.
While there hasn’t been any indication that the Jays are considering selling, it isn’t surprising that they seem to be prioritizing players who can help beyond 2021, rather than rental players for what might be a longshot of a playoff chase. Cimber and Richards are controlled through 2024, Rodriguez through 2023, and Gallo isn’t a free agent until after the 2022 season.
Acquiring Gallo would also seem to hint at larger-scale roster moves afoot either this winter or before Friday’s deadline, since the Jays’ outfield picture is already pretty crowded. George Springer, Teoscar Hernandez, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Randal Grichuk have all been rotating through the three outfield positions and in the DH spot, and Corey Dickerson will also be part of the mix once he is activated from the injured list. Acquiring Gallo would only add to this surplus, though a trade could itself address the issue. One would imagine the Rangers would have interest in Gurriel and his affordable contract, or maybe the much pricier Grichuk (owed $9.333MM in each of the 2022 and 2023 seasons) could be dealt as part of a larger deal, with the Blue Jays perhaps eating some of that money.
Since the Jays are already heavy in right-handed batters, a powerful left-handed bat like Gallo would add balance and make Toronto’s lineup even more dangerous. Also, as good as the Blue Jays’ lineup is at the moment, the team might lose a key piece this winter if Marcus Semien departs in free agency. Gallo is enjoying a nice rebound after a down year in 2020, as the Texas outfielder is hitting .222/.380/.484 with 24 homers and a league-best 74 walks over 384 plate appearances.
Gallo is everything wrong with baseball. He’s either going to K or hit a homer. Idk what makes that appealing in a big time situation. Id rather have someone like Frazier who makes contact and actually has good bat to ball skills. Gallo is so overrated
He can play defense too. He’s not just a bruiser.
Gallo and Frazier have similar OBP. Gallo takes the cake in HR, RBI, OPS. Oh and he plays a gold glove RF with a rocket arm. Your evaluation is incorrect sir.
@Brewer…that’s just all kinds of wrong. While I am one of Gallo’s critics, as a Rangers STH, he still is one of the top 2 or 3 defensive outfielders. He has made some small improvements in his approach at the plate, which I believe with a strong hitting coach. he could turn the corner on improving his offensive production.
Yeah, but who has the hotter girlfriend?
Joey Gallo! Did some research…
For science
I became nosey and had to look online. I now remember there is more to life than work and sports…
Why would the Blue Jays be interested in Gallo? They already struggle mightily vs lefties (check out the splits from their big bats), why add another guy that cant hit them?
Gallo hits HR’s off lefties
Gallo’s OPS is 40 points higher against lefties and he’s slugging over .500 against them. He crushed them in 2019, too, and was better in 2018 vs them.
Great post. I just assumed the reverse was true.
I just assumed a bucs fan never pays attention to reality, so no harm.
Based on the article…so they can play him at 2B when Seimen leaves?
You also left out the part that he leads MLB in walks. Phenomenal eye at the plate.
Terrible take. People who are so insanely against a strikeout that they would make strawman arguments like this are what’s wrong with the game.
Bottom of the 9th. 2 outs. Game tied. You want Frazier or Gallo up there? Seriously man.
with a man on second? Frazier. Every. Single. Time.
And…. He’s good at walking
Gallo also leads all outfielders in DRS, is 10th in UZR/150, 9th in range runs above average, has the same OAA as Kevin Kiermaier, and has a rocket arm. Not to mention he has some sneaky athleticism with a 27.3 FT/SEC sprint speed while being worth over 2 runs with his base running.
No one would have a problem if Kevin Kiermaier or Jackie Bradley Jr. hit like Gallo did. They’re known for their glove and outfield athleticism. But Gallo is up there with the best defenders in the sport. Imo, he’s a better glove than he is a bat. The fact he can hit well is the cherry on top, IMO.
Either going to K or hit a homer, yet has a league best 74 walks
No one else in the Texas line up to protect him. They had John Hicks batting behind him before he was dfa’d! There’s just no reason to pitch to him.
You wish he was on the Brewers to actually make them respectable.
The article literally says that he leads the league in walks.
Interesting, I think both are good fits. Would have to trade one of their outfielders for Gurriel though
The Blue Jays are a team that if I see the Rangers packaging of players together, Gibson, Gallo or Kennedy could all be fits for them. They also have the prospects to be able to do something. Not sure anything will happen with Gallo but the others I could see.
No one cares about “interested in.” Make some damn deals already.
rumors is literally a part of the title of this site.
if you don’t want to read rumors, go do something else until you see headlines about finalized deals
Lots of fiction at this site.
Few fact-based rumors.
@zico Stfu
Joey Gallo is HR or K with low Average…..he has the makings of Chris Davis clone
Much better glove than Davis.
Disagree…..Chris Davis was very very good at 1b……..tough to disprove that the GG is the honor today as it was in the past…..especially when you consider that Frazier of the Yankees was in strong consideration for a Gold Glove just last year…..and Gallo is not paid for his glove……just as Chris Davis was/is!
bb-ref has one of his top comps as Rob Deer
Chris Davis was a really good player from 2012-2017 though. Not that much of an insult.
He also has super high walk rates. How much that is a product of the lineup, I’m not sure. Would he see more pitches to hit if he had guys like Vlad, Bo and Teoscar hitting around him rather than Jonah Heim?
That’s bring up an interesting thought about how they would construct the lineup.
Gallo behind Vlad would make all kinds of sense…. But Vlad protecting Gallo might actually be more beneficial.
I’d take my chances walking Vlad to get to Gallo because of the high chance of a K. But I definitely don’t want to walk Gallo to get to Vlad… so maybe he would get more pitches to hit that way?
Either way a top 6 of Springer, Gallo, Vlad, Semien, Bichette and Teoscar would be deadly.
Biggio’s good obp,Kirk hitting up to his potential and Grichuk…. Being Grichuk I guess would be pretty solid in the bottom 3.
He leads MLB in walks. Davis did not
Gallo has one of the highest OBP’s in the league.
Gallo can play 3rd too, which would give them an upgrade over Biggio.
Biggio has actually been back to his former self ever since returning from injury. Given Gallos defensive woes in the infield and his good outfield play, I doubt he will get any time at 3B.
No he won’t play infield anymore. It’s too much of toll on his body with the up and down into a fielding position. The best place is the outfield because of his size.
Doubt a team would put Gallo at third unless it was an emergency. He’s one of the sport’s best defensive outfielders. No team is trading him with the idea of moving him back to a corner infield spot.
Everybody is interested in everybody. It’s like summer camp all over again.
LOL! The Shamrocks are going to be buyers at the deadline?? The Edsel has a better chance than the Shamrocks of making a come back in 2021. . I thought it was pretty obvious watching their game last night at Fenway that the players are just trying to limp through the rest of the year, when some of them can leave.
The Shamrocks as buyers. LOL!!
All the great building the Jays have done, they better not ruin it all by making a couple of bad moves. That’s all it takes, a couple of big time mistakes, and we’ll be an underachieving team for years to come. We added Springer, we could’ve had Buxton, Merrifield, or god knows who else in CF.
As far as Gallo, what’s even the point. All that hitting and far from good enough pitching. A big, big pitching splash is what’s needed. And probably in the off-season, through free agency if possible.
That’s what free agency is. All land mines. Teams need to avoid those. You can set on ones if you only give them one year deals but those 5 year deals to non CF like Springer who has never played more than 90 games in CF but gave him CF money.
I don’t. understand….Blue Jay’s are looking for roster upgrades all over their roster….I thought all we heard was how stacked they were….now they need roster upgrades all across their roster?
Exactly! TOR needs to focus on getting another SP and one or two EFFECTIVE RPs. They don’t need any more bats unless the plan is to cover up the bad pitching with 1000 kilotons of offense.
Offense might be cheaper. Not that many arms on the market that drastically improve upon what they have and aren’t rentals.
I do agree though, they need a strong right handed pitcher to break up Ryu and Ray. Kind of like what we were hoping Pearson was going to be this year
Germán Márquez would look really good between Ryu and Ray.
The Jays have the hitting, after another late inning collapse it’s evident that the bullpen is the problem. There are some good arms available yet they’re looking at offense?
What good arms? And don’t list rentals because that would be pointless, they have 2/5th of a strong MLB rotation locked for next year. Lots of holes to fill
Why not both Gallo and Gibson?
Cmon Rodriguez to the Phillies!
95% of the posters here don’t even know who he is, let alone have seen him pitch. He’s not sexy.
Ben Cherington ran the Jays farm system before working for the Pirates. Jays have the inside track to Rodriquez. I felt he would go to the Jays 2 months ago. He can be a key for the Phillies in 2021. They’ll have to pay heavy to get him.
Toronto can already hit what’s the point of trading anything for Gallo? They need arms badly not a feast or famine guy.
100% right, Mystery Team! The prospect cost for Gallo is going to be extremely high. Why does Toronto want to add another plus bat to their lineup who will cost them 2-3 of their Top 10 prospects when their primary weakness is pitching? They should cash in their prospect chips for pitching instead. It’s been proven 100 times over that you can’t slug your way to a championship, but you can win one by allowing 3 runs or less each game. Toronto is trying to build their version of the Gashouse Gang, or better yet, the Gashouse Gorillas for you Bugs Bunny fans.
Because Mark Shaipiro always wants his teams to outslug the opposition. They’re historically weak on acquiring and developing pitchers. Usually they try to get one name pitcher like one guy will make the difference.
He learned that from John Hart in Cleveland.
P.S. The Gashouse Gang stole bases and ran them aggressively. Shapiro teams are generally station to station with maybe one player being an exception.
Good take Samuel. Have the Jays developed their own quality starters in Shapiro’s 5years of employment? Even one?
Gallo and Gibson for Gurriel, Groshans, Otto Lopez and a pitching prospect or 2?
No to adding Gurriel Jr. Why? That would upset the team to much IMO. Trading him away right now may upset the young core chemistry to much…better to do something like that in the off season or IMO not at all. He may not be the best outfielder but he has made great strides this year and much like Hernandez he can be a lot better in years to come especially with that arm, the kid can hit if he can keep his head in the game (true for a lot of the young core) and I think that happens when they get a Major League manager.
Better to trade Grichuk…….Should have traded Grichuk last month when Springer came back but now he is cold and looking more like himself and require the Jays paying almost all his contract to get someone to take him.
I agree with that only prob is Grichuk and his contract prob have negative value
Why would Texas have any interest in a 29 year old Grichuk?
I predict that there is a Prospect Hold’em Game being played in the AL East until Thursday the 29th. The Red Sox can put the Blue Jays away this week if the win 3 of 4 and turn them into a late seller on the 30th.
I’d be shocked if TO traded for Gallo.
Could easily see the Jays targeting Gallo and one or more of the Rangers’ relief corp.
Jays get: Joey Gallo, Kyle Gibson, and Ian Kennedy
Rangers get: Orelvis Martinez and Simeon Woods Richardson
Something like this might satisfy both sides. Thoughts?
Martinez is one of the most highly prized Jays prospects now along with Moreno so I doubt he would be moved for Gallo. Gurriel Jr/Kirk and Groshans more likely.
I’d assume SWR is untouchable in most trades as well.
Can’t imagine they would give up any of their top 5 prospects to end up facing Tampa in a WC series
Exactly unless it was for a controllable pitcher like say.. Márquez
Yes if it comes with term then all bets are off
Yeah, that’s not enough for all three of those guys.
Hey, it’s the off-season all over again: Jays interested in everyone under the sun.
Due diligence.
The real BlueJays story is in the Fangraph stats for starting pitching. The #BlueJays starters are 28th in IP, 14th in BABIP, 12th in ERA and 22nd in MLB in WAR. That means bullpen burnout. NO team is winning a WS with starters performing like that.
Yes they need 2 good relievers and a shutdown closer, but they are not getting to the playoffs with at least one upgrade if not two upgrades over Matz or Kay or Stripling starting. #sellers #Calledinspringtraining #scoutseyes
Joked about the Jays being in on Gallo couple days ago. Much funnier that it might be true.
“Derek Bell officially declares ‘Operation Shutdown’ over; Blue Jays interested…”
Jimmer nice if you told the truth and put the figures in context. The Jays have played 4-6 games less then most other teams. Factor that in and their starting pitching is middle of the pack for most stats.
Do tell other then Walker what FA pitcher should the Jays have signed in the off season?
Your middle of the pack statement is false and cannot be proven to be true. What can be pointed to as fact is the bullpen being overused the first month of the season resulting in walls being hit and IL’s being filled.
Reply to Jimmer the next time you want to start a fight you always lose.
Cheap bullpen fell apart. How many were overused? Most were hurt at the starting gate. Huge stretch trying to link that. Fear of overusing guys seems to be a bigger problem in the bullpen. Guys not used in important games when there’s an off day coming up? Lack of urgency compared to other teams in the league from the front office, to the coaching staff, to the players on the field for the most part. A player that will just own the clubhouse needs to be brought in Not sure that player exists. Wished it would have been Yadi or Sal.
Might be early or just never be in the cards, but I think Manoah can fill a big void on the starting front down the stretch. Slight hope that Bowden Francis can help in some way, looks decent so far? As much as I wanted the Nats to fall out and Scherzer to become a trade option, he did give up a grand slam to a reliever this year, maybe someone younger. Love how the Red Sox got Pivetta when the Phils were clearly frustrated with him, wouldn’t mind a trade for Luzardo or Gore if the Jays are gonna go big creative with it?
IP per game they’re around 22nd, not quite middle of pack but it’s not as hopeless as 28th. Marko makes an ok point.
Odorizzi sat there for anyone to sign, wouldn’t have been too bad? A few gems among the landmines this offseason. Jays did very well to land Ray! Imagine without him.
Lot of nice chips to use in trade the next few days or to sit on. The market seems to be lower end prospects so far. Might be able to fill the pieces on a budget and get on a heater when this year long road trip finally comes to an end! Go Jays. Missed you cranks.
Strikeouts aren’t as bad as many think, it depends on the situation. It’s like the awesome Sparky Anderson once said when he asked about all the strikeouts Cecil Fielder had, “at least he’s not hitting into double plays”!