Inside The Blue Jays

4 Hitters the Blue Jays Can Target at the Trade Deadline

Breaking down why Paul DeJong, Tommy Pham, and other hitters could be Blue Jays trade deadline targets.

Mitch Bannon

Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports
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The Blue Jays rank out as one of baseball's most average offenses. They're 13th in runs scored, 16th in homers, and ninth in team OPS. Tuesday's MLB trade deadline presents Toronto with an opportunity to inject a little life into the lineup.

Here are four (or five) bats the Jays could target on deadline day:

SS/2B Paul DeJong

The Jays have been linked to a few infielders this deadline and it's easy to see why. Both Cavan Biggio and Santiago Espinal are hitting under .230 with well below-average OPS. And, the Jays have the league's worst defense at second base, with -10 DRS.

A move for DeJong could fix a few things. The Cardinals shortstop isn't a beast with the bat, but he's rocking a .725 OPS this season (about league average) and is particularly strong against lefties (.834 OPS).

DeJong, who has mainly played shortstop in his MLB career but has 165 innings at 2B, also grades out as a 95th-percentile defender this season. The Jays could mix him in as infield depth and a platoon bat against lefties in 2023 and perhaps hand him the second base keys next season. DeJong has $12.5 and $15 million club options for the next two seasons, respectively.

SS/2B Tim Anderson

Anderson brings much of the same makeup and upside as DeJong, with none of the recent success.

Despite a career .740 OPS, Anderson's 2023 production is sitting way down at .564. He hasn't hit a single home run this season, so far.

But Anderson's heating up lately, still hits lefties, can play second base, and has team options for future seasons. And, in the same way the Jays made a buy-low trade for Whit Merrifield at last year's deadline, they could go shopping for an AL Central bounce-back infielder, once again.

OF/DH Brent Rooker

Brent Rooker won't fill any defensive holes for Toronto, but he'll bring the thump.

The 28-year-old Oakland breakout star has a .796 OPS this year with 16 homers in 84 games. He mashes lefties and can play a little left field and first base. The one difficulty in swinging a trade for Rooker is cost.

He's got at least four years of team control after this one, still sitting as a pre-arbitration player. But, the A's don't look like they'll be competing during those four years anyway, so this might be a time for them to sell high.

OF/DH Tommy Pham

Tommy Pham has been the Mets' best qualified hitter. Not sure if that says more about New York's offense or Pham's strong season, but he's still an ideal target to round out the Jays' 26-man. 

Pham doesn't play the best defense in the world and he may not force everyday playing time in Toronto's lineup. But the vet does roast left-handed pitching. Pham's posting a .340 OBP and .851 OPS against southpaws this season, with seven of his nine homers coming against the lefty platoon split. As a pending free agent, the price shouldn't be prohibitively high, either.

Bonus Bat: Nelson Cruz

What if I told you the Jays could acquire a career .856 OPS hitter who mashes lefties, has 464 lifetime dingers, and has been in many big moments. Best part? For all intents and purposes, he's free.

Here's the catch: Nelson Cruz's OPS this season was down to .681 before the Padres released him earlier this month, he can't play a defensive position, and he may not even be interested in latching on with another MLB team at age 42.

But, if the Jays whiff on adding a bopper at the deadline, sliding Cruz into the back of the bench wouldn't be a bad backup plan.

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Mitch Bannon
MITCH BANNON

Mitch Bannon is a baseball reporter for Sports Illustrated covering the Toronto Blue Jays and their minor league affiliates.Twitter: @MitchBannon

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