Thursday, June 18, 2009

Will the Blue Jays Become Sellers?

Upon hearing the news that the Blue Jays placed Roy Halladay and Scott Downs on the DL yesterday, I can't help but wonder how this will effect their plans with regards to the trading deadline.

Even though the Blue Jays sit just 5 games out of first in the AL East and just 2 games back of the wild card, their uninspired play over the last 25 games has to be a major cause for a concern for the front office. It's looking more and more like the Blue Jays fast start, which left them 13 games over .500, was simply a fluke as the team has sputtered back down to Earth over the past month.

If the Blue Jays slide as expected during Halladay's absence, conventional wisdom would suggest that the Jays would become sellers and try to improve for 2010. However, the Jays are an interesting group. They have lots of young players who the organization is high on to go along with lots of veterans who are signed to absurd contracts.

The reality of the situation is that the Blue Jays have very few pieces that they would be willing to deal come July 31 that interest teams contractually. Here is the list that I came up with (Halladay not included)

Blue Jays trade chips
-Overbay
-Millar
-Scutaro (FA after '09)

And seriously folks, that's all I could come up with. And I seriously doubt the Jays would trade Scutaro. Unless the Jays want to trade away some of their young talent or Halladay, it could be very quiet on the trade front for the Blue Jays even if the team falls out of contention.

With regards to Halladay, I cannot see the Jays trying to move him after having to place him on the DL. Even though the return on Halladay would still be substantial, the Jays are better off holding onto their ace and seeing what fate their dealt in 2010.

Thoughts?

1 comment:

Chris said...

Firstly, I have to commend on the coverage of the Blue Jays. Even if some of it is on Vernon Wells' ridiculous contract (It seemed like a good idea at the time?).

I can't see the Jays ever moving Halladay unless a trade is requested and he seems to be quite happy up in Toronto. As to whether they become sellers, I'm unconvinced the Jays really have many pieces to sell. The only thing I could possibly see is Overbay...and I'm not sure if any trade of benefit could be made.