Report: Blue Jays 'Very Interested' in Reds' Tyler Mahle Before Lockout

The Blue Jays showed significant interest before the MLB lockout, TSN's Scott Mitchell reported Thursday.

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The Blue Jays are widely known to be seeking another back-end starting pitcher, and, before MLB owners locked out the players, they reportedly had their sights set on a trade.

Prior to the lockout, Toronto was “very interested” in current Reds starter Tyler Mahle, a source told TSN’s Scott Mitchell.

Under team control through 2023, Mahle represents one of the more intriguing arms tossed around in Blue Jays trade talks. The 27-year-old has quietly been one of the better, more durable starters in baseball the last two years, pitching to a 3.65 ERA and a 10.59 K/9 in 227.2 innings since the start of 2020.

Source: Baseball Savant

The Blue Jays’ top four starters—José Berríos, Kevin Gausman, Alek Manoah, and Hyun Jin Ryu—have their spots locked in, and Mahle would be a highly qualified addition as number five, it just comes down to the price of acquisition.

Toronto has reportedly expressed interest in moving abundant assets—Alejandro Kirk at catcher comes to mind—for positions of greater need. With the Jays’ relatively enticing upper-minors prospects as sweeteners, it’d be no surprise to see talks progress with the Reds if Cincinnati is actually interested in moving Mahle.

Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins was aggressive in dealing for pitching help in 2021, and with the Reds also listening to offers on Sonny Gray and Luis Castillo, a Toronto-Cincinnati blockbuster could be mutually beneficial.

H/T Scott Mitchell