Blue Jays Notebook: Ryu, All-Star Game Musings, Trade Deadline Needs

A few thoughts before the Blue Jays reach the All-Star break.

© Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

TORONTO – Before the first-year player draft, All-Star festivities, and impending trade deadline cook up a content storm, there’s often a lull in baseball news. For the Blue Jays, a big Canada Day game Saturday should provide a jolt, but it’s otherwise been a quiet few weeks in Jays land.

The team is 16-10 this month – that’s a big takeaway – but there are also a few other trendy topics right now. Let’s crack things open.

Ryu Rarin’ To Go

When Hyun Jin Ryu underwent Tommy John surgery in June of last year, I was not very optimistic about his subsequent return to action. At 35 years old, in the back end of his deal, and coming off his worst full season in the majors? No way. Write his obituary. Light the arrows and float him down the river for a viking funeral.

Fast forward one calendar year, and Ryu is potentially one month away from returning. He’s in fantastic shape, down 30 pounds from a season ago, and has been built up to 60 or so pitches. The Blue Jays plan to have him pitch a rehab game on July 4. That’s wonderful news for Toronto’s rotation, a group that badly needs a savior at the back end.

Ryu’s fastball velocity got as high as 88 mph, per manager John Schneider, and the club expects another tick or two as he loosens up. We’re looking at a very real possibility the 36-year-old starts a game for the Blue Jays before July is over.

MLB All-Star Game Musings

Bo Bichette should be the AL’s starting shortstop at this year’s All-Star Game, not Corey Seager. No disrespect to the Rangers slugger and his eye-popping 1.020 OPS, but the Jays shortstop is in the midst of a far more complete season.

Bichette has played all 81 games this year and he leads qualified AL hitters in both hits and batting average. The 25-year-old has been, by far, the Blue Jays’ most consistent contributor, and, believe it or not, Bichette has arguably had a better year defensively. He’s at 0.7 dWAR this year, while Seager comes in at 0.3 dWAR, and the pair are tied at -2 OAA.

I think All-Star voters got it right everywhere else. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., recent heroics aside, is not better than Yandy Diaz right now. Nor are Matt Chapman and Whit Merrifield better than Josh Jung or Marcus Semien. It’s possible Chapman still ekes in as a reserve, while Kevin Gausman could also join the AL’s crew of starting pitchers.

What Should The Jays Do With The Trade Deadline Looming?

Ahead of last year’s deadline, the Blue Jays made some tertiary moves by acquiring Zach Pop, Anthony Bass, Whit Merrifield, and Mitch White. If we look at each player’s contributions in 2022 and ’23, Merrifield was arguably the most consequential of the bunch. Pop and White have been hurt a bunch, and Bass, well…

I’m a firm believer the Blue Jays’ 2023 roster, player by player, is better than it was in 2022. Guys simply haven’t executed to their full potential this summer. There’s been no All-Star season from Alejandro Kirk, and Alek Manoah is fighting his demons in the minors.

If everything had gone swimmingly this season – a usable Manoah, production from Kirk, Vladdy, Daulton Varsho, etc. – then I could see the club staying pat at the deadline. But, and maybe this will excite Jays fans, I think the front office needs to swing a little harder at the deadline this year. Chapman is a free agent at season’s end, and the aging part of the Jays’ core (George Springer, Chris Bassitt, Gausman) could, talent-wise, hit a plateau very soon.

If Toronto considers itself a playoff team with its roster as it is, a simple look around the AL East landscape reveals the opposite. This year, if you’re not getting better – if you’re not winning or sweeping series – you’re falling behind. As the Jays jockey for a wild-card spot, the Yankees will get better once Aaron Judge and Carlos Rodon return. The Astros have underperformed and are due for a hot streak. I’d also expect the Angels to splurge at the deadline.

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins identified starting pitching as a priority. Whether that means Lucas Giolito (unlikely) or Jordan Montgomery (slightly less unlikely), Toronto needs something more than last year’s Mitch White. A hard-hitting bench bat sure could help, too, especially as Kevin Kiermaier and Brandon Belt face the dog days of July, August, and September.