5 Trade Deadline Relief Targets To Upgrade Blue Jays' Bullpen

Joe Kelly, Jordan Hicks, and three other relievers the Blue Jays could trade for to upgrade the bullpen on deadline day.4

Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

For a while there, it didn't look like the Jays would be shopping for relief pitching at the trade deadline.

But in the last two weeks, Toronto's bullpen has a 4.89 ERA (10th-worst in MLB) and the workloads for key contributors have become increasingly unsustainable. Even with Chad Green soon coming up to support the 'pen, the Jays could still use another arm on deadline day. 

Here are five realistic options:

RHP Scott Barlow, Royals

Another year, another trade deadline for Barlow to seem like the perfect fit for the Blue Jays. The 30-year-old Royals reliever is having the worst season of his MLB career, at least at first glance. He's rocking a 5.15 ERA and a career-high in walk rate, but the righty still has an elite slider, induces plenty of soft contact, and misses bats with the best of 'em.

With the cost lower than previous deadlines, maybe this is the year the Jays finally add Barlow to the back of the bullpen?

RHP Jordan Hicks, Cardinals

When he's on, Hicks is one of the most electric relievers in baseball. The pending free agent can drop 100+ MPH sinkers with nasty movement that are essentially unhittable for righty batters.

He's built in the same mold as Zach Pop, who Toronto traded for last deadline, with better stuff and higher upside. Similar to how Toronto's used Trevor Richards this year, Hicks can flux between a leverage weapon and also soak up innings out of the pen, as he's pitched more than a single frame eight times this year.

LHP Brent Suter, Rockies

The Rockies have two solid lefties they'll probably trade on deadline day: Brad Hand and Suter. Something makes me think the Jays would rather Suter. Not sure why.

With a funky windup and a fastball/changeup mix, Suter is a soft-contact king. He ranks within baseball's top percentiles in average exit velocity and hard-hit rate. The Harvard grad may not throw hard (87 MPH on the heater) and doesn't miss many bats, but he's got one of baseball's best expected ERAs (2.49) and could be a great second lefty behind Tim Mayza.

RHP Joe Kelly, White Sox

Recently off the injured list, Kelly hasn't had much success with the White Sox over the last few years and could be a cheap deadline flier. Despite the 5.45 ERA over the last two seasons, there's reason to believe he could be a solid 6th/7th inning upgrade for Toronto, as his FIP is way down at 3.04.

He's also the type of reliever John Schneider should have no qualms about turning to in a big postseason moment. The righty's got 58.1 career playoff innings across eight October runs. He owns a career 3.55 playoff ERA and has pitched in three different World Series.

Maybe the Jays can get two bits of shopping done at once, tossing Kelly into a larger deal for infielder Tim Anderson or a starting pitcher.

LHP Brooks Raley, Mets

Much like Suter, Raley could bring a radically different lefty look to give Toronto some southpaw insurance behind Mayza.

The 35-year-old relies mainly on a low-80s sweeper that induces whiffs over 30% of the time. He may be more of a matchup-based lefty than Mayza, though, as lefties hit just .190 against Raley (compared to righty's .246 average). Raley comes with a $6.5 million team option for next season, as well.

Brooks Raley, Wicked 83mph Sweeper...and Sword. ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/nJkD9GeWaS

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 3, 2023