Atkins deserves credit for a job well done at the deadline

The Major League Baseball Trade Deadline has come and gone. It was certainly different for the Blue Jays this year. For the first time in a long time, they were sellers instead of buyers.

With all of the criticism that general manager Ross Atkins has gotten over the past couple of years, he deserves some credit for a job well done at the deadline. He brought in some potential impact talent and built depth in the farm system.

The Jays traded away Yusei Kikuchi, Yimi Garcia, Trevor Richards, Nate Pearson, Kevin Kiermaier, Justin Turner, Danny Jansen, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa. In return, the Jays acquired 13 prospects and one major-league pitcher (Ryan Yarbrough). Clearly, the Jays had a plan heading into the deadline to focus their acquisitions on position players as 11 of the 13 prospects they added are position players.

The Jays need to upgrade their offence at the major-league level. They also need some balance to their lineup as it is currently very right-handed. Among the position players they acquired, four of them hit right-handed, six bat lefty and one is a switch hitter. They are a combination of power and speed types. The majority of them have significant upside because of the quality of their tools. A few are just good, solid baseball players with high baseball IQs.

The most impressive deal by Atkins was trading Yusei Kikuchi to the Houston Astros for starting pitcher Jake Bloss, outfielder Joey Loperfido and infielder Will Wagner.

Kikuchi was 4-9 with a 4.75 ERA with the Jays. He had only eight quality starts among his 22 this season, and had a 6.26 ERA in June and a 6.59 ERA in July. He has not been at his best recently. The Astros liked the quality of Kikuchi’s stuff and the strikeouts he induces (130 in 115.1 innings), and they believe they can get him back on track with their analytics department.

My concern for the Astros is that the former Jays lefty has needed time to get comfortable in his settings in order to thrive. After coming over from Japan, his first year in Seattle was really a struggle (6-11, 5.46 ERA). The second year was a bit better, but it really wasn’t until the third year that he settled in completely. Then in his first year with the Jays, he struggled again, needing time to get comfortable. He gets there, but it takes time. I’m not sure two months is enough time for him to get settled and then reverse the downward trend of his performance.

Despite all of that, the Blue Jays got a young top pitching prospect in Bloss who was selected in the third round of the 2023 draft from Georgetown University. He had a 1.64 ERA at Triple-A this year and only allowed 31 hits in 66 innings in three minor-league stops. That’s just a .140 opponents’ batting average. He made three unimpressive MLB starts in July, but that in no way diminished the impact he has made within a year of being drafted. He has a chance to be a solid No. 2 or No. 3 starter.

Loperfido is a left-hand hitting outfielder with legitimate power. He had 25 homers last season across three minor-league levels, and was leading the minors in homers (13) when he was called up to join the Astros this year. He plays with aggression and is willing to dive or crash into the wall to make a play. He can also play some first and second base. He needs to cut down on his swing and miss a bit, but he has legitimate power. 

Wagner is the son of former major-league closer Billy Wagner. He is a left-hand hitting 2B/3B. He’s a bit older (26), but he is having a tremendous season in Triple-A, batting .307/.424/.429. He doesn’t have a lot of power or speed, but he can get on base. He has more walks (54) than strikeouts (33). Scouts rave about his baseball IQ.

This is an extraordinary return for Kikuchi. 

Trading Yimi Garcia trade to Seattle Mariners for switch-hitting OF Jonatan Clase and catcher Jacob Sharp was also impressive. Garcia has been a workhorse reliever for the Jays and will really help the Mariners hold leads, but he has an expiring contract and needed to be moved.

Clase, 22, had 20 homers and 79 stolen bases in 2023. He is hitting .274/.373/.483 with 10 homers and 26 stolen bases this season, playing in Triple-A. He has a chance to be a front-of-the-order table-setter who can fly. He was considered the fastest player in the Mariners organization. He is a toolsy prospect with a high ceiling and has a chance to be an impact player. The fact that the Jays got a guy with these tools for just two months of Garcia is extraordinary. Plus, the Jays can sign Garcia back at the end of the season, if they want.

Sharp, 22, is an organizational-type catcher who could have a long minor-league career. He has a little pop in his bat and is a contact hitter. He was blocked by a couple of other catching prospects in the Mariners organization but should get some runway with the Blue Jays to see if his skills develop. He profiles more as a backup catcher in the majors.

The remaining cast of acquisitions all have a shot to help at the major-league level with varying degrees of impact. It’s likely that some will fizzle out, while some may take big steps forward and even be better than anticipated. That is the nature of prospects. As the prospects perform they will become either players to help the Jays or pieces in future deals to help the team acquire players to play in Toronto.

I would have liked Toronto to do some buying at the deadline in addition to their selling, similar to what the Chicago Cubs did.

The Cubs traded away some players but also picked up a number of others (including former Blue Jays pitcher Nate Pearson) who could make an impact in 2025. A source indicated to me that the Cubs had to limit their buying as one of the goals they had was to get the payroll under the $237 million competitive balance tax threshold – not only to avoid paying a tax this year, but more importantly not to be considered a second-time offender next season when they reconfigure the roster and look to build a playoff contender.

A first-time offender gets hit with a 20 per cent tax on the overage while a second-time offender pays at 30 per cent clip. Third-time offenders and beyond pay at 50 per cent. There are also surcharges for teams that go $20 million, $40 million and $60 million over the payroll threshold.

The final calculations are not in, but it appears that Atkins was able to accomplish getting the Blue Jays under the $237 million threshold.

The 2025 season starts now. All three players in the Kikuchi deal and Clase may be part of the Jays plans next season. Now is the time to evaluate the young players who will be given opportunities to get at-bats and log innings and to differentiate who is part of the problem and who is part of the solution for 2025.

Plus, now is the time to fix Bo Bichette and Alejandro Kirk offensively, to help Dalton Varsho become more consistent, and keep George Springer’s hot streak rolling.