Blue Jays Lead Betting Odds to Land José Berrios
If José Berrios is on the move, betting odds suggest the Blue Jays are a likely destination.
According to the latest MLB trade deadline and player movement odds, the Blue Jays are tied for the most likely Berrios landing spot with the New York Mets. The full MLB trade deadline odds, listed by Odds Shark, also position the Jays as potential landing spots for several of the other top names who could move at the 2021 deadline.
The odds from the sportsbook Bovada/Bodog list the Minnesota Twins (-200) as the most likely team Berrios will begin next season with, but the Mets and Jays (+350) beat out the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals as top landing spots. At +350, the odds suggest the Minnesota Twins ace has a 22.2% chance of being a Blue Jay on Opening Day 2022.
Earlier this season, MLB Network's Jon Morosi mentioned Berrios as "one name to watch" for the Blue Jays, and a potential fit in Toronto. Since then, Toronto's rotation has stabilized with the promotion of Alek Manoah, but Berrios' year-and-a-half of control positions him as a rotation solution for 2021 and beyond.
The trade odds have the Blue Jays as a top five most likely destination for other top trade chip Max Scherzer and a longshot destination for Chicago's Kris Bryant. The lines imply a 11.76% chance Toronto lands the Nationals' ace and a 7.69% chance Bryant is manning the hot corner for the Blue Jays in the future.
Toronto general manager Ross Atkins met with the media earlier this week and identified run prevention — starting pitching, bullpen, and defense — as the organization's primary needs at the major league level. Both Scherzer and Berrios would add an elite 1A/1B option to the top of Toronto's rotation, but the team is focused on adding in the bullpen primarily, Atkins said.
“We're open to starting pitching as well,” Atkins said. “But as you’re probably aware there’s not a ton of it on the market.”
Further reading:
Takeaways from Ross Atkins' media availability
8 ways to fix the struggling Toronto Blue Jays bullpen
Blue Jays have the most top prospects in Baseball America's top 100
Mitch Bannon is a baseball reporter for Sports Illustrated covering the Toronto Blue Jays and their minor league affiliates.Twitter: @MitchBannon