Starting pitching trade targets Blue Jays could explore to patch up rotation

With Alek Manoah in Florida ironing things out and Hyun-jin Ryu a ways from returning — with no guarantee he’ll perform when he returns — it’s safe to say the Toronto Blue Jays need starting pitching.

The team could theoretically keep leaning on bullpen days like one that worked until it didn’t on Saturday, but a preferable solution would be for the team to find another starter. That player wouldn’t need to perform at a star level, or close to it, but a stopgap solution until one of Manoah or Ryu is ready would do the Blue Jays a world of good.

This situation is not too dissimilar to 2021, when the Blue Jays had an acute need in the bullpen and opted to make trades for Trevor Richards and Adam Cimber well in advance of the trade deadline.

Finding a starter is a little bit of a trickier task.

Teams in contention are reluctant to give up starting depth. Big-ticket rentals are likely to be held until the trade deadline to encourage bidding wars. Guys with years of control will be hard to get from cellar dwellers who feel like they’re on the way up.

Beyond those factors, the Blue Jays don’t really need a long-term solution. Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, José Berríos, and Manoah are all under team control through at least 2025. Yusei Kikuchi is signed through next year. 

That leaves the Blue Jays in a spot where they could really use a starter, but that player wouldn’t necessarily be in the rotation by the end of the year. That means the best fits are players who either have options, can play a clear bullpen role, or would cost so little to acquire that waiving them when someone returns would make sense.

All of that is a tough needle to thread, but it’s not a hopeless situation. Here are a couple of trade targets the Blue Jays could explore to patch up the hole in their rotation:

The ultimate journeyman - Ben Lively

Team: Cincinnati Reds

Age: 31

Throws: Right

2023 stats: 9.17 K/9, 2.23 BB/9, 1.98 HR/9 with a 4.21 ERA and 4.92 FIP in 36.1 innings.

How he fits: Lively might cost a touch more to pry loose than some of the pitchers on this list considering he’s pre-arb with less than a year of MLB service time — and he’s given Cincinnati quality innings this season.

That said, the Reds are not in a position where holding onto bottom-of-the-rotation types in their thirties too hard makes sense — even if they have plenty of team control.

Lively has appeared with four different teams’ triple-A affiliates since 2017 and pitched in the KBO between 2019 and 2021.

While he’s a soft-tosser with a sinker that averages 91.6 mph, he has elite extension (91st percentile) that helps mitigate that issue. He also throws six different pitches, a far cry from the three he featured before he headed to Korea.

Lively’s stuff won’t blow anyone away, but he still has an option remaining, has performed relatively well this season, and throws strikes wherever he goes. 

The Blue Jays could have him hold down a spot as long as he’s needed in 2023 then send him to Triple-A to serve as injury insurance. How he plays into the plans beyond that could remain up in the air, but the team control attached to him is an interesting wrinkle.

The finally-healthy guy - Joey Lucchesi 

Team: New York Mets

Age: 30

Throws: Left

2023 stats: 6.85 K/9, 3.22 BB/9, 1.61 HR/9 with a 4.43 ERA and 5.15 FIP in 22.1 innings.

How he fits: The Mets acquired Lucchesi prior to the 2021 season, but he pitched just 38.1 frames for them that year before getting Tommy John Surgery and missing all of 2022.

Lucchesi is back now, but he’s spent much of his 2023 in triple-A, where he’s posted a 2.72 ERA in 39.1 innings. The southpaw might not be back to the form that made him a solid fourth-starter type with the San Diego Padres between 2018 and 2019, but he’s flashed an intriguing ceiling this year.

In his first MLB start of the season, he went seven scoreless innings and struck out nine against an above-average San Francisco Giants offence.

Lucchesi is another guy lacking velocity, but as a southpaw he’d have bullpen utility when he was no longer needed as a starter. Left-handed batters are 2-for-13 against the 30-year-old this year and have a .288 wOBA against him in his career.

He also has two more options and is under team control through 2024, meaning he could be a depth starter capable of moving up and down as needed for one-and-a-half years.

Although Lucchesi might have some use to the Mets, New York’s rotation is locked in, and lefty David Peterson appears to be the team’s first choice in case of injury. The seventh guy on the depth chart would be far from untouchable.

The old friend - Chase Anderson

Team: Colorado Rockies

Age: 35

Throws: Right

2023 stats: 5.34 K/9, 1.97 BB/9, 1.41 HR/9 with a 2.25 ERA and 4.96 FIP in 32 innings.

How he fits: Anderson’s first stop in Toronto was nothing short of brutal, but he’s pitched well since the Rockies claimed him from the Tampa Bay Rays in May.

In five starts with Colorado he’s pitched at least five innings each time, with no more than three runs scored in any of his outings. Impressively, four of those five appearances took place at Coors Field.

That’s a small sample, but his stuff looks better than it has in recent years. His average fastball velocity (93.3 mph) is as high as it’s ever been, and he’s added a slider and sweeper since his first stint with the Blue Jays.

Anderson is also accustomed to moving between roles as he’s split his time between the rotation and bullpen in every season since 2019. The veteran right-hander’s contract expires after 2023, but he’s not a big enough rental for Colorado to hesitate dealing him now. 

The Rockies would probably be delighted to get something for a player they acquired for nothing.

The innings eater - Paolo Espino

Team: Washington Nationals

Age: 36

Throws: Right

2023 stats: 8.08 K/9, 3.69 BB/9, 1.38 HR/9 with a 4.62 ERA and 5.14 FIP in 39 innings (triple-A)

How he fits: When you’re talking about a “just a guy” guy, this is the type of pitcher you’re talking about. That said, Espino produced a 4.56 ERA and 1.1 fWAR in 223 MLB innings between 2021 and 2022 splitting his work between the rotation and the bullpen.

The veteran right-hander is stuck on the Nationals Triple-A affiliate because a rebuilding team like Washington has nothing to gain from the baseline level of competence the role-versatile righty can provide considering his limited upside. The Blue Jays, on the other hand, could use someone with a reasonable floor.

Espino’s fastball comes in under 90 mph, but he has a slow curveball with an extremely high spin rate (97th percentile in 2022), that he can miss a few bats with.

Despite his age, Espino has a couple of options left, and team control through 2026. Toronto probably wouldn’t want to hold onto the veteran deep into his 30s, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a little flexibility.