The Toronto Blue Jays might be about to face the Chicago Cubs in their latest season series, but with the trade deadline within a stone’s throw, the trade chatter and speculation are picking up across the MLB. The team was also given an update on Luis Arraez and Seiya Suzuki.
Here is the latest on the Blue Jays’ needs at this stage of the season as the MLB trade deadline rapidly approaches.
MLB Insider Reveals the Toronto Blue Jays’ Needs
Things are looking pretty good for the Blue Jays following their series sweep of the Boston Red Sox. However, it doesn’t hurt to tweak the roster and add depth as the regular season winds down.
MLB insider Ken Rosenthal recently revealed the list of needs the Blue Jays have at this point in the regular season. Additionally, he offers one trade target that could fulfill at least one of those needs.
“The ideal fit for the Jays is a high-contact average hitter and/or a right-handed hitting outfielder,” Rosenthal wrote in his latest piece for The Athletic. “San Francisco Giants second baseman Luis Arraez might make sense as the contact guy, but his chase rate is nearly as high as the Jays’ league-leading 34 percent mark. Acquiring Arraez also might force the Jays to shift Ernie Clement, arguably their best hitter this season, from second base to the left side of the infield, eating into the playing time of shortstop Andrés Giménez and third baseman Kazuma Okamoto.”
“The right-handed-hitting outfielder actually might be the Jays’ greater need; their outfield is predominantly left-handed. The team also is expected to pursue pitching help, both starting and relief.”
To summarize, here is what Rosenthal believes are the trade needs of the Blue Jays:
- High-contact average hitter.
- Right-handed hitting outfielder.
- Starting pitching.
- Relief pitching.
MLB Trade Deadline Countdown is On
The MLB trade deadline of August 3rd is rapidly approaching. At this stage of the season, every team is assessing where they are in the standings. Additionally, they are projecting where they could finish the regular season and how that will impact their plans.
For the Blue Jays, they are virtually a lock for the playoffs. However, they are nine games back of the New York Yankees and six games back of the Tampa Bay Rays, the top two teams in the AL East.
All it takes is one hot streak for the Blue Jays and a cold streak for their divisional rivals to turn the tide.
2025 Trade Deadline Recap
The 2025 trade deadline was massively impactful for the Blue Jays. On deadline day, they swung trades for several players who are still with the organization.
Last year, they acquired Louis Varland, Ty France, Seranthony Dominguez, and Shane Bieber in the week leading up to the deadline. As you can see, the Blue Jays focused on strengthening their pitching staff through their acquisitions. The jury is out on whether they have a similar approach to the upcoming deadline.
Luis Arraez & Seiya Suzuki: Blue Jays Trade Targets?
Rosenthal lists Luis Arraez as a high-average contact hitter the team could target. Additionally, there is an outfield target in Seiya Suzuki that the Blue Jays could pursue.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan reveals that the likelihood of a Luis Arraez trade is 90 percent. He also listed the chances of a Suzuki trade as 15 percent.
However, both batters bring something different to the table.
In 71 games for the San Francisco Giants, Arraez has 93 hits, 15 doubles, six triples, three home runs, 30 RBI’s, six stolen bases, to go along with a .326 batting average and a 4.1 percent strike-out rate.
On the other hand, Suzuki has 57 hits, nine doubles, 10 home runs, 29 RBI’s, and a .261 batting average.
ESPN offers a quick scouting report on him, too, citing his consistency in addition to him being “good at everything, every year.”
One way or another, the Blue Jays have a lot of options to consider as they march toward the trade deadline.
Blue Jays Big Needs & Targets Revealed as Trade Deadline Looms