Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Submit Your Question For This Week’s Episode Of The MLB Trade Rumors Podcast!

By | at

On the MLB Trade Rumors podcast, we regularly answer questions from our readers and listeners. With the next episode set for Wednesday, we’re looking for MLBTR’s audience to submit their questions and we’ll pick a few to answer.

The 2024 season is now into June, which means we are less than two months away from the trade deadline. If you have a question about the ongoing 2024 season, a future transaction, a look ahead to the offseason, or anything else baseball related, we’d love to hear from you! You can email your questions to mlbtrpod@gmail.com.

Also, if you want to hear your voice on the podcast, send us your question in audio form and we might play it. iPhone users can find instructions on how to do so here.

In the meantime, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Orioles To Promote Connor Norby

By | at

The Orioles are calling up infield/outfield prospect Connor Norby, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN on X. Members of the Baltimore beat, including Jake Rill of MLB.com on X, had previously noted that Norby was en route to Toronto with the rest of the team. Norby isn’t yet on the club’s 40-man roster but the O’s have a vacancy there after recently losing Kaleb Ort off waivers to the Astros. They will need to make a move to get Norby onto the active roster. Infielder Jorge Mateo is in concussion protocol, per Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com, and could perhaps wind up on the injured list.

It’s a nice early birthday present for Norby, who turns 24 on Saturday. His call-up is yet another step in the march of exciting prospect that the Orioles have graduated in recent years. The O’s finished last in the American League East in each full season from 2017 to 2021 losing 108 games or more in three of those seasons. In the process, they managed to use high draft picks to stockpile exciting youngsters such as Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser, Jordan Westburg, Kyle Stowers, Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad, DL Hall and Grayson Rodriguez, all of whom were taken with a first- or second-round pick.

Norby can be counted in that group as well, with the O’s grabbing him in the second round of the 2021 draft. He got a brief professional debut in the months after that draft selection and then tore through three levels in 2022. Going from High-A to Double-A and Triple-A, he hit 29 home runs in 547 plate appearances. He also drew walks in 10.1% of those trips to the plate while only getting punched out 20.8% of the time. His combined slash line of .279/.360/.526 led to a 137 wRC+, or 37% above average overall, and he also stole 16 bases.

That performance was enough to get him on the back of some top 100 prospect lists going into 2023. Baseball America gave him the #93 slot while ESPN put him at #92. His results last year were still solid but not quite as overwhelming as the prior season. He spent all of 2023 in Triple-A, getting into 138 games. He still hit 21 home runs and walked in 9% of his trips to the plate, but the offensive environment was quite strong in Triple-A last year, thanks in part to some robo-ump shenanigans. Norby’s .290/.359/.483 batting line produced a 109 wRC+, still above average but not by a massive margin, and his 10 steals were a slight drop-off from the year before.

He didn’t get as much prospect love coming into this year but has been performing quite well for Norfolk. Through 51 contests in 2024, he already has nine home runs and seven steals. His 30.7% strikeout rate is quite high but he’s also drawing walks at an 11.3% clip. His .286/.374/.510 line translates to a 127 wRC+ on the year so far.

Defensively, Norby came up as a second baseman but the O’s have had him spend a bit more time in the outfield corners since the infield is fairly crowded by the presence of Henderson, Westburg, Holliday, Mateo and others. That gives the club a bit of flexibility in how they slot him into the lineup, though the outfield mix is pretty crowded with Cowser, Stowers, Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander and Austin Hays all sharing time there while Ryan O’Hearn is the regular in the designated hitter slot and Ryan Mountcastle at first base.

Mateo has been the regular second baseman for the O’s lately, so that position could be open if he is indeed going to miss some time due to a concussion. Norby could slot in there or the O’s could also move Westburg from third base, as he has plenty of second base experience, with Ramón Urías taking over at the hot corner. That latter scenario would leave Norby in a backup role, which wouldn’t be ideal treatment for a notable prospect, but the O’s have also called up guys like Stowers and Kjerstad without finding significant playing time for them.

However it plays out, it continues to highlight the embarrassment of riches that the Orioles have in terms of young position player talent. They have so many of these exciting youngsters that even finding playing time for all of them is a challenge. In the long run, that is something that could be worked out organically. Santander is an impending free agent while Mullins, Hays and Mateo are all slated to hit the open market after 2025. That will open up plenty of opportunities for the youngsters in the long run while it’s also feasible that the O’s use some of these young players in deadline trades to bolster the pitching staff for a postseason push.

For now, Norby will get the call to the big leagues for the first time and start his service time clock. Even if he stays up for the rest of the year, he won’t be able to get a year of service in 2024, meaning the earliest he could reach free agency is after 2030. He could perhaps reach Super Two status if he stays in the majors from now and through the end of the 2026 campaign, but it’s also possible that he winds up back in Norfolk after Mateo is healthy. Holliday and Kjerstad are also playing well in Triple-A at the moment and could force their way back to the big leagues down the line. There are many moving parts that will impact the long-term plans but it’s undoubtedly a great day for Norby.

Twins Option Edouard Julien; Royce Lewis Expected To Return Tuesday

By | at

The Twins have optioned second baseman Edouard Julien to Triple-A St. Paul, per the team’s transaction log at MLB.com. Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported last night that the move was likely on the horizon, as the Twins need to clear roster space for the return of infielder Royce Lewis, who’s expected to join the team tomorrow for their series opener against the Yankees.

Julien, 25, graduated from top prospect status to the Twins’ apparent everyday second baseman last year when he hit .263/.381/.459 with 16 homers in 408 plate appearances as a rookie. Minnesota felt comfortable enough with the Canadian-born slugger at second base that they traded stalwart infielder Jorge Polanco to the Mariners this offseason when looking for ways to pare back the payroll.

Julien hit .223/.330/.500 with seven homers through the end of April, but he’s since fallen into a slump that’s seen him post a bleak .169/.274/.181 slash over a span of 95 trips to the plate. He’s still walking at a hefty 12.6% clip but has also fanned at a 38% rate during that slump (and in 34% of his plate appearances on the season overall). Julien’s extremely patient approach has helped him walk in nearly 15% of his MLB plate appearances, but that patience can border on passivity as well. Jonathan India is the only qualified hitter in baseball who’s swung at fewer pitches than Julien’s 37%.

The monthlong slump will make Julien the roster casualty for the return of Lewis, who’s been Minnesota’s best hitter when healthy dating back to his 2022 debut. Injuries have marred Lewis’ career to date — he’s twice torn his right ACL and has been out since Opening Day due to a quad strain — but the 2017 No. 1 overall draft pick is a .313/.369/.564 hitter (159 wRC+) in 282 MLB plate appearances. He also swatted four homers in 26 postseason playoff appearances last year (in addition to homering in his first at-bat of the 2024 regular season).

With Lewis reclaiming the regular third base job and Julien headed to St. Paul, the Twins’ infield will take on a different look. Jose Miranda has been the team’s primary third baseman and, after a lost 2023 season, has reemerged as a key contributor. The 25-year-old Miranda (26 later this month) is another former Twins top prospect who impressed as a rookie in 2022, popping 15 homers and batting .268/.325/.426 in 483 plate appearances. He tried to play through a shoulder impingement that eventually required surgery last season, hitting just .211/.263/.303 in 40 big league games.

Now that his shoulder is back at full strength, Miranda looks like his old self. He’s taken 151 turns at the plate and delivered a quite-productive .280/.311/.469 slash with six homers and nine doubles. Miranda doesn’t walk much (3.3% this season, 5.3% career) but puts the ball in play at a very high rate (14.6% strikeout rate this year, 17.4% career) and has plenty of extra-base pop. Though he played some second base in the minors, it doesn’t seem likely he’ll do so at this point. He’ll rotate between the infield corners and designated hitter, but utilityman Willi Castro figures to pick up the bulk of playing time at second base. The switch-hitting Castro is out to a .260/.335/.420 start and has experience playing all over the diamond.

The Twins could’ve made a more aggressive roster decision, cutting ties with a struggling veteran instead. But Carlos Santana has rebounded from an awful start to bat .253/.340/.434 over the past 30 days. Kyle Farmer and Manuel Margot both have ugly numbers on the whole, but as Hayes notes, Margot is hitting left-handers fairly well and Farmer is valued both for his defensive versatility and his leadership in the clubhouse. Optioning Julien also preserves depth in a way that parting with someone like Farmer or Margot would not; both players could reject outright assignments to the minors in favor of free agency.

The Twins’ infield crunch falls into the “good problem to have” bucket of cliches. Julien’s demotion certainly doesn’t change the organization’s view that he can be a valuable long-term contributor, but he’ll head to Triple-A for what’s likely to be a relatively short-term reset. Presumably, in the event of an injury in the infield or at just about any non-catcher spot among the team’s position-player corps, Julien would be the first man back up. (Castro could slide right back into a super-utility role or into an everyday outfield role.)

From a service time vantage point, Julien’s slump could potentially cost him, however. He entered the season with 135 days of MLB service. Had he stayed in the majors for good, he’d have been a slam-dunk Super Two player following the 2025 season. It’s still possible he reaches that designation but is now far from a sure thing. Julien has already reached one full year of MLB service, so this assignment won’t impact his timeline to free agency, but it could potentially cost him a fourth trip through the arbitration process.

The Opener: Tigers, Snell, Middleton

By | at

With the calendar now flipped to June, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Tigers roster moves incoming:

The Tigers are set to promote third base/outfield prospect Justyn-Henry Malloy to the big leagues today. Corresponding moves to clear space on the active and 40-man rosters will be needed, though one of those has already come to light, as Detroit will reportedly option former No. 1 overall draft pick Spencer Torkelson to Triple-A Toledo.

Torkelson, 24, enjoyed what appeared to be a breakout second half last year with the Tigers as he slashed .261/.345/.576 with 16 home runs in his final 48 games. That strong production unfortunately has not carried over into the 2024 campaign, and the slugger has hit a paltry .201/.266/.330 with just four home runs in 54 games so far this season. Veterans Gio Urshela and Mark Canha are among the first base-capable options who could step into Torkelson’s shoes.

Malloy is in his second season with the Tigers organization after coming over from the Braves in the Joe Jimenez trade and has done nothing but hit at the Triple-A level since arriving in Toledo. He slashed .277/.417/.474 last season and has delivered a very similar .252/.410/.473 slash line in 45 games this season. Malloy has plenty of experience at the hot corner, but the Tigers said prior to the season that he’d play the outfield exclusively this year.

2. Snell to the IL?

Reigning NL Cy Young award winner Blake Snell’s 2024 campaign has been nothing short of disastrous. The San Francisco southpaw has already spent time on the injured list due to an adductor strain and has an ugly 9.51 ERA with an 11.8% walk rate against a 26.1% strikeout rate across six starts this season. That all came before Snell suffered a groin injury yesterday that required him to leave his start against the Yankees in the fifth inning.

Snell is set to undergo an MRI today and appears poised to make a second trip to the injured list since signing with the Giants. With Alex Cobb, Robbie Ray, Keaton Winn, and Tristan Beck already on the IL, the Giants will have just three regular starters left in their rotation: Logan Webb, Kyle Harrison, and Jordan Hicks. Long reliever Spencer Howard could pitch in a bulk role during bullpen games for the Giants, and Triple-A arms Mason Black, Landen Roupp, and Kai-Wei Teng could all be options to replace Snell in the club’s rotation.

3. Middleton meeting with Tommy John specialist:

The Cardinals have been without veteran reliever Keynan Middleton, who signed with the club on a one-year, $6MM pact over the offseason, for the entire regular season to this point. It now appears possible that Middleton’s absence from the club’s bullpen could last the entire season. Middleton is reportedly poised to meet with UCL expert Dr. Christopher Ahmad for a second opinion. In addition to costing Middleton the remainder of the season, surgery would also surely prompt the Cardinals to decline their $6MM 2025 club option on the veteran right-hander in favor of a $1MM buyout.

Live Chat With Fantasy Baseball Expert Nicklaus Gaut

By | at

Fantasy baseball expert Nicklaus Gaut will be holding a live chat today at 11am central time, exclusively with Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers. Use the link below to ask a question in advance, participate in the live event, and read the transcript afterward.

Unlock Subscriber-Exclusive Articles Like This One With a Trade Rumors Front Office Subscription

BENEFITS
  • Access weekly subscriber-only articles by Tim Dierkes, Steve Adams, and Anthony Franco.
  • Join exclusive weekly live chats with Anthony.
  • Remove ads and support our writers.
  • Access GM-caliber tools like our MLB Contract Tracker

Tigers To Option Spencer Torkelson To Triple-A

By | at

The Tigers will be sending first baseman Spencer Torkelson down to Triple-A prior to tomorrow’s game with the Rangers, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports.  The move opens up a 26-man roster spot for Justyn-Henry Malloy, whose impending promotion to the big leagues was reported by Petzold earlier today.

Torkelson didn’t play in two of the Tigers’ last three games, and prior to today’s 8-4 win over the Red Sox, Detroit manager A.J. Hinch have a rather non-committal answer when asked if optioning Torkelson to the minors was a possibility.  As it turned out, the speculation was correct, and Torkelson will now head for Triple-A Toledo for the first time since his 2022 season.

In July of that year, Torkelson was hitting only .197/.282/.295 when the Tigers sent him back to the minors for six weeks to try and get on track.  While he didn’t hit much better after being recalled in September, some improvement was evident last season, when Torkelson hit .233/.313/.446 with 31 home runs over 684 plate appearances.  This translated to a respectable 107 wRC+, and given that Torkelson had some of the best hard-hit ball and barrel rates in the league, there was plenty of optimism that he would fully break out in his third MLB season.

Unfortunately for Torkelson and the Tigers, his numbers have sharply swung in the other direction.  Torkelson has only a 71 wRC+ from four homers and a .201/.266/.330 slash line, and his hard-contact metrics and walk rates have all swung well below the league average.  Things have gotten particularly dire over Torkelson’s last 10 games, with just three hits to show from his last 40 trips to the plate.

This deep slump left the Tigers no choice but to see if the first overall pick of the 2020 draft can again find himself with a stint in the minors.  Torkelson’s option comes even with Kerry Carpenter on the 15-day injured list and possibly facing an extended layoff due to a stress fracture in his back, yet given his numbers, the argument can certainly be made that the Tigers’ lineup would be improved rather further hampered if someone besides Torkelson took over at first base.

Torkelson entered the season with one full year and 137 days of MLB service time.  Another full season in the majors would have put Torkelson in very good position to earn Super Two status and an extra year of arbitration eligibility, based on where the Super Two threshold has usually fallen over the last 15 seasons.  While the thresholds have trended a bit lower over the last five years, spending even a month in Toledo could take Torkelson out of the Super Two conversation altogether.

This is undoubtedly a concern for Torkelson and his reps at the Boras Corporation, and Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris surely considered the Super Two implications among the many factors involved in the decision to option Torkelson to Triple-A.  What both parties can agree on, however, is that Torkelson’s future earning potential will will be even more adversely impacted if he can’t consistently hit Major League pitching, so some time in the minors might be necessary at this still-early stage in Torkelson’s career.  It shouldn’t be overlooked at Torkelson is still not even 25 years old, and his baseball development already had the unexpected roadblock of the canceled 2020 minor league season.

Mark Canha, Gio Urshela, or Andy Ibanez could get some time at first base as Detroit will now shuffle its lineup around in search of more overall production.  Malloy figures to play as a corner outfielder or DH, and if Urshela starts playing more often at first base, it opens up more third-base playing time for the hot-hitting Matt Vierling, who is currently in a timeshare at third base and center field.

NL East Notes: Sanchez, Marsh, Alvarez, Fujinami, Fletcher

By | at

The Marlins placed right-hander Sixto Sanchez on the 15-day injured list today (retroactive to June 1), with right-hander Emmanuel Ramirez was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move.  Sanchez is dealing with inflammation in his throwing shoulder, and something seemed awry when his velocity was significantly down in his start against the Rangers on Friday.

Given how multiple shoulder surgeries (amidst other injuries) kept Sanchez from just a single inning of minor league ball from 2021-23, it isn’t a good sign that the former top prospect is again dealing with any type of shoulder problem, even if some inflammation or soreness might be expected given Sanchez’s long layoff.  The righty made his return to the big leagues this season and has a 6.06 ERA over 35 2/3 innings for Miami, starting seven of his 14 appearances.  While Sanchez has always been more of a grounder specialist than a strikeout artist, Sanchez has struck out only 10.5% of batters faced this season.

More from around the NL East…

  • Brandon Marsh is “day to day…at this point” with a right hamstring strain, as Phillies manager Rob Thomson told reporters (including Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer) after Marsh was removed from tonight’s game.  In the eighth inning, Marsh was rounding second base after a Nick Castellanos single, but seemed to tweak his hamstring and immediately asked for a trainer.  One of the many Phillies players enjoying a strong season, Marsh is hitting .265/.344/.426 over 186 plate appearances, playing primarily as the regular left fielder against right-handed pitching, and also bouncing around to the other two outfield spots when needed.  Philadelphia has a pair of upcoming off-days on Thursday and Friday, so the club might try to get by without Marsh until that break in the hopes that he can avoid the injured list.
  • Francisco Alvarez could possibly be making a quicker return than expected from thumb surgery, as The Athletic’s Will Sammon (X link) writes that “there’s a distinct possibility” Alvarez could be part of the Mets’ roster for the pair of games with the Phillies in London on June 8-9.  The catcher was given a recovery timeline of 6-8 weeks after he underwent the surgery on April 23, though since Alvarez has started a minor league rehab assignment, the Mets are hopeful that he might make it back right at the low end of that initial progression.
  • In other Mets injury news, the team called up Shintaro Fujinami in mid-May and placed him on the Major League 15-day injured list, a procedural move that MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo explains was made so Fujinami could eventually be moved to the 60-day IL, thus freeing up a 40-man roster spot.  Fujinami hasn’t been pitched for a month due to a shoulder strain, and the updated 6-8 week timeline means that he’ll likely be out of action until July.  New York signed Fujinami to a one-year, $3.35MM deal in February, coming off his MLB debut season that saw him post a 7.18 ERA across 79 innings with the A’s and Orioles.  Despite that big ERA, the hard-throwing Fujinami pitched better as the season went on, leading the Mets to make a small investment in his potential as a bullpen arm.
  • The Braves have assigned David Fletcher from Triple-A Gwinnett to Double-A Mississippi, the team announced.  While technically a demotion, the Mississippi affiliate’s official X feed listed Fletcher as an infielder and right-handed pitcher, indicating that this move could be a way of giving Fletcher more runway to explore his new career path as a knuckleballer.  The Athletic’s David O’Brien recently detailed how Fletcher has been experimenting with a knuckler, culminating in a start last Wednesday when he limited the Orioles’ Triple-A squad to two runs over five innings.  Fletcher (who recently celebrated his 30th birthday) is still owed at least roughly $12MM through the end of the 2025 season, as per the five-year, $26MM extension he signed with the Angels in April 2021.  His production as an infielder has declined sharply since signing that deal, and the Braves acquired him as part of a mutual salary dump of trade last December.  Fletcher is also under investigation from the league in regards to allegations of non-baseball bets placed with an illegal bookmaker.

Pirates To Call Up Henry Davis

By | at

After a month at Triple-A Indianapolis, former first overall pick Henry Davis is headed back to the majors, as Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (X link) reports that the Pirates are calling Davis up in advance of their next game on Tuesday against the Dodgers.  The corresponding move isn’t yet known, but it seems likely that backup catcher Grant Koch will be optioned to Triple-A a few days after making his big league debut.

Davis, the first overall pick of the 2021 draft, hit .213/.302/.351 over 255 plate appearances after making his MLB debut last season.  Davis only played as a catcher in two games during his rookie season, but headed into 2024 slated for a heavier workload behind the plate once fellow rookie catcher Endy Rodriguez underwent season-ending UCL surgery during the offseason.  Injuries to Yasmani Grandal and Jason Delay further cleared the path for more playing time for Davis at catcher, but the struggles continued both offensively and defensively.

Pitch-framing remains an issue for Davis, and the Defensive Runs Saved metric rates him a -2 based on his 184 1/3 innings at catcher this season.  With the bat, Davis has hit only .162/.280/.206, and struck out in 29 of his 83 plate appearances.

The decision was made on May 3 to send Davis to Indianapolis for more seasoning, and Davis has responded by hitting .286/.433/.649 with seven home runs over 97 PA.  While Davis torched minor league pitching during his initial trip up the Pirates’ pipeline, it should be noted that Davis had only 63 PA at Triple-A when the Bucs first promoted him last season.  It could be that he was simply brought up a bit too soon, even if Davis also might’ve forced the Pirates’ hand by looking like he had little left to prove in the minors.

Delay just started a minor league rehab assignment, so while he is eligible to be activated from the 60-day IL later this week, he’ll need quite a bit of time to get ramped up after missing almost the entire season due to meniscus surgery.  Joey Bart was also just placed on the 10-day IL with a thumb injury, while Grandal is healthy but has struggled badly at the plate.  With this lack of depth and Davis’ overall import as a cornerstone of Pittsburgh’s rebuild, he should have plenty of runway for playing time as the team’s regular catcher.  Andrew McCutchen has the everyday DH spot pretty well covered, so while Davis could conceivably get some more work as an outfielder if the Pirates are looking for ways to get his bat into the lineup, the likeliest scenario is that Grandal just moves into a backup role.

Tigers To Promote Justyn-Henry Malloy

By | at

The Tigers are calling up outfielder Justyn-Henry Malloy, Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports (X link).  Malloy will be making his MLB debut when he first appears in a game, which could happen as early as Monday when the Tigers begin a series with the Rangers.  The corresponding move or moves aren’t yet known, as Detroit will have to open up space on both the 26-man and 40-man rosters.

Malloy was a sixth-round pick for the Braves in the 2021 draft, and was dealt to Detroit in December 2022 as part of the trade that brought Joe Jimenez into the Atlanta bullpen.  Drafted as a third baseman out of Georgia Tech, Austin Riley’s presence in Atlanta made him something of an expendable piece, as the Braves apparently weren’t sold on Malloy’s potential as an outfielder after deploying him exclusively as a left fielder in Double-A and Triple-A.

He still saw some work at the hot corner after joining the Tigers organization, but Malloy went into 2024 prepping to be a full-time outfielder, and he has indeed played only in the corners (and at DH) at Triple-A Toledo this season.  Baseball America and MLB Pipeline each rank Malloy as the sixth-best prospect in the Tigers’ farm system, and their scouting reports both indicate Malloy has a strong throwing arm, even if his time at third base was hampered by some accuracy issues in throwing to first base.

Even if Malloy is just a passable defensive outfielder, the Tigers will happily make do as long as Malloy can hit.  Malloy has a .272/.417/.474 slash line over 838 career plate appearances at the Triple-A level, and has drawn raves for his approach at the plate.  According to BA’s report, “Malloy manages to get to average or better power — despite modest raw juice — because he’s an highly intelligent hitter with a plan at the plate and an excellent idea of the strike zone.”  His high on-base numbers reflect his outstanding batting eye, and he has sharply increased his line drive rate from 24% in 2023 to 28.3% this season.

The 24-year-old Malloy is a right-handed hitter, so he’ll add to a Detroit lineup that now tilts even more heavily to the right side since Kerry Carpenter is on the injured list.  However, lineup balance will take a back seat to production of any kind, given how the Tigers have been struggling to score runs.  Carpenter will be sidelined for an indefinite amount of time with a lumbar spine stress fracture and Mark Canha has been trying to play through some hip problems, though Canha was back in today’s lineup.

Malloy could slide right in as a makeshift replacement for Carpenter, getting work at either corner outfield spot or as a DH depending on how the Tigers build their lineup.  This might also end up being Malloy’s general usage over the long term if he can stick as an outfielder, potentially replacing Canha if the veteran moves on as a free agent after the season.

Jays GM Ross Atkins: Trading Guerrero, Bichette “Doesn’t Make Any Sense For Us”

By | at

The Blue Jays have won five of their last six games, but still sit below the .500 mark with a 28-30 record, putting them a few percentage points behind the Rays for last place in the AL East.  As Darragh McDonald put it in a piece for MLBTR last week, some tough decisions will await the club heading into the trade deadline, and perhaps in the bigger picture entirely if the Jays don’t start heating up in a hurry.

Trading either of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Bo Bichette would be the most seismic moves Toronto could make if the team did decide to sell at the deadline.  The duo have been the faces of this era of Blue Jays baseball, but since both are scheduled to become free agents after the 2025 season, it isn’t yet clear if either player will truly be in Toronto for the long term — whether due to the Jays’ overall struggles, or the team’s own hesitation about making a big 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 today on SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio, and reiterated that the Blue Jays “believe in their futures and hope that there is a way they can play here for a long time.”  In regards to possible extensions, Atkins said “of course we have dialogue with them” about such multi-year deals, “and that is something that will continue.”

This belief would seem to preclude the idea of Guerrero or Bichette being moved at the deadline.  Atkins said he was “disappointed” in a recent report from MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, which featured a quote from an unnamed AL executive who said Toronto wasn’t “opposed to” moving one of their two cornerstones, and have “talked to teams about it,” though “the asks were ridiculous.”

Atkins didn’t deny that some conversations had taken place with other front offices about Guerrero and Bichette, but in the sense that that the other teams were floating the idea of a trade, not the Jays themselves.  Trading Guerrero or Bichette “just doesn’t make any sense for us…There will be occasional times as you’re talking to other executives, that they’ll ask if we’ll consider, and we just say it’s not something that we have spent any time on.  Because they are so talented and such great teammates, they are attractive to other teams, so [others] will call.”

It is common practice for executives to check in on all sorts of players, simply out of due diligence just in case a rival team might be open to moving a player not known to be available, or if such a player could be available at a lower-than-expected price.  Technically, a trade that “doesn’t make any sense for” in Atkins and the Blue Jays in early June could start looking a lot more sensible 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 did change direction.

That said, Atkins expressed confidence that better things were ahead for his team, noting that the two players have been hitting better after posting rough numbers in April.  Guerrero in particular has been hot, hitting .366/.458/475 in 118 plate appearances and 26 games from May 1 through June 1, even if he had hit only two home runs in that span.  Bichette has also posted a .318/.356/.471 slash line in his last 90 PA.

Even with the two stars producing, however, the Blue Jays as a whole have continued to struggle to score runs.  George Springer has continued to struggle, Daulton Varsho has cooled off after a solid April, and the improvements from Guerrero and Bichette have been countered by Justin Turner’s bat suddenly going ice cold over the last month.  As a collective group, the Jays are also near the bottom of the league in hitting with runners in scoring position.

With offensive production at a premium, the Jays’ lineup today had the unexpected twist of Guerrero’s return to third base.  Guerrero made his MLB debut as a third baseman in 2019, but hasn’t played the position at all since, apart from two late-game cameos at the hot corner.

Atkins said that the decision to use Guerrero at third base was “something we’ve been working on collectively…and that’s another way for us to deploy a lineup that maybe creates a little more offense.”  Manager John Schneider said the same following today’s 5-4 win over the Pirates, telling Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith and other reporters that Guerrero could perhaps play one of every five or six games as a third baseman.  Turner or Daniel Vogelbach could then be used at first base or DH, or one of the Jays’ two catchers (Danny Jansen or Alejandro Kirk) could get a DH day while the other backstop is also in the lineup and behind the plate.

After Matt Chapman departed in free agency, Ernie Clement and offseason signee Isiah Kiner-Falefa have more or less split the playing time at third base this season, with Turner, Cavan Biggio, Addison Barger, and now Guerrero getting a few stray appearances.  Kiner-Falefa has also seen a good chunk of action at second base, and he has performed well in this virtual everyday role.  Not only is IKF delivering his customary strong defense, but he is also hitting .268/.315/.399 in 182 PA, for what would be a career-high 105 wRC+.

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top