Trade candidates Blue Jays should consider in search for offence

As the Toronto Blue Jays navigate their quest to find upgrades in the wake of Shohei Ohtani choosing the Los Angeles Dodgers, it seems likely that they will be active on the trade market.

Unfortunately for the club, the current free agent class is strong when it comes to starting pitching, but low on needle-moving position players.

While the Blue Jays will still look at complementary pitchers — and may take a legitimate run at Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto simply because 25-year-old guys with his talent are so rarely available — their focus will be on improving the lineup. Bolstering that group via free agency won’t be easy.

Cody Bellinger is the biggest bat who’s a clean fit for the Blue Jays, but he’s coming off a season where he had the fifth-highest difference between his wOBA (.370) and expected wOBA (.327) in the majors — and he posted a 78 wrC+ in 1,143 plate appearances in his prior three seasons. He’s far from a safe bet, and the next guy on the list is probably Matt Chapman, who’s more of an all-around difference-maker than an offensive force.

If the Blue Jays hope to put a scary lineup on the field like they had in 2021 and 2022, it will probably take a trade or two to do so. There aren’t too many teams dying to give up impact position players, but they aren’t impossible to find either.

Here are a few directions the Blue Jays might go.

It’s difficult to find a star capable of being a long-term foundational piece on the trade market because even rebuilding clubs tend to hold onto those guys tightly — unless they are close to free agency. If they are close to the open market, they are likely on the older side and there’s no guarantee they’ll stick around for the long haul.

The closest thing the Blue Jays can find to a player to build around who might be available is probably Luis Robert.

After struggling to stay healthy in the first three years of his career, Robert broke out in 2023 with a 38 home run campaign where he also produced 20 stolen bases and 95th percentile fielding value according to Statcast. The outfielder does not have a refined approach at the dish, but it doesn’t tend to matter as he’s extremely dangerous when he makes contact.

Robert is under team control through 2027 at a total cost of $67 million, presuming his options are picked up. That’s a bargain for seasons right in the middle of his prime (age-26 to age-29).

Most teams wouldn’t consider trading a player like Robert — and, to be fair, Chicago White Sox GM Chris Getz has expressed skepticism about the possibility — but Chicago is a mess right now, and there are plenty of rumours about the team shipping off ace Dylan Cease. If the White Sox want to hit reset they could get a king’s ransom for Robert.

Considering the outfielder’s prior durability issues, they might even consider this to be a good time to sell high on the Cuban star, too.

Robert has only ever played centre field at the MLB level, but there’s no reason he couldn’t move to left — or push Daulton Varsho back there after he often deferred to Kevin Kiermaier in 2023.

The fit of a right-handed centre fielder isn’t perfect for the Blue Jays, but the bigger issue would be landing on a trade package that could satisfy the White Sox without burning Toronto’s farm system to the ground.

If the Blue Jays’ primary goal is to boost their offence, it’s possible they might have to take a good, hard look at guys who don’t fit the criteria of their ideal acquisition. Last season they did that by bringing aboard Brandon Belt, which limited their day-to-day lineup flexibility — but that signing ended up being one of the better moves of the team’s off-season.

Similarly, the Blue Jays could explore a trade for Pete Alonso, even though it would consistently tie down their first base and DH spots. Alonso is believed to be available for the right offer considering he’s just one year from hitting free agency, and the New York Mets seemingly haven’t gotten serious about an extension.

The biggest complaint about Toronto’s offence in 2023 was its inability to put the ball over the fence and Alonso has hit 15 more home runs than any other player since entering the league. Adding a right-handed 1B/DH would still leave the Blue Jays with plenty of holes, but that doesn’t mean the Polar Bear wouldn’t be a compelling target.

A less dramatic possibility would be Ty France of the Seattle Mariners. Seattle’s decision to move off of third baseman Eugenio Suárez showed a willingness to at least retool, and France is only under team control for two more seasons.

France didn’t have a great year with the bat in 2023 (104 wRC+), but his wOBA (.315) was 27 points lower than his xwOBA (.342) indicating he experienced some bad luck. Only 14 out of 258 qualified hitters fell short of their xwOBA by a larger margin.

Between 2020 and 2022 his 128 wRC+ ranked 35 among MLB hitters with at least 1,000 plate appearances, right between Starling Marte and Alex Bregman.

France wouldn’t bring the same power element as Alonso, but his track record suggests his bat justifies a full-time DH job, and he would help the Blue Jays put more runs on the board.

When the San Diego Padres moved Juan Soto to the New York Yankees they indicated they were open for business. Long-term stalwarts like Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Fernando Tatis Jr. likely aren’t available, but there are still interesting trade targets in San Diego.

Neither Ha-Seong Kim nor Jake Cronenworth are the type of power bats who would restore Toronto’s prior offensive identity, but both could bring a great deal of value to the team’s infield.

Cronenworth is coming off a down season (1.0 fWAR), but the 29-year-old appeared in the All-Star Game in both 2021 and 2022, managing precisely 4.2 fWAR in each season. He brings a left-handed bat and a versatile glove to the equation, and the Padres are reportedly open to moving him thanks to a contract that pays him $7 million next season, $11 million in 2025 and $12 each year between 2026 and 2030.

That is a lengthy commitment to a guy entering his 30s, but it could also be a bargain if he’s starting calibre for more than half of that time. His most natural fit would be at second base, but he can also play first and has dabbled at shortstop. He doesn’t steal bases, but he’s a consistent plus on the base paths with a BsR that ranks 18th in the majors since 2021 (+12.1).

Kim is a lower-risk target coming off a career year (4.4 fWAR) that saw him hit 17 home runs and steal 38 bases. He’s a natural shortstop who’s thrived whenever he’s played second or third base.

The 28-year-old is only under team control through 2024 as his mutual option for 2025 ($7 million) would not be picked up on two sides. That makes him a costly rental or a player worth acquiring with an eye toward a lengthy extension.

Either player would provide an instant impact for the Blue Jays, providing them with a high-OBP infielder capable of filling a current hole. Cronenworth would cost relatively little but comes with long-term risk. Kim is more reliable, but could easily be a one-year stopgap.