As the Toronto Blue Jays progress toward the trade deadline, the starting pitching market is likely to become a hot topic.
Toronto has seemingly dispelled any notions of selling this year. They’re currently in a playoff spot at 40-34, and if anything, they’ve still underperformed a bit. With the right additions on each side of the ball, the Jays could take off in the second half of the season.
Max Scherzer has been hurt all season, while Bowden Francis has been a major disappointment. Even if the former comes back healthy and produces, Toronto could be one veteran starter away from an ideal second-half rotation.
Enter Merrill Kelly of the Arizona Diamondbacks. He’s a rental, proven in the postseason, and pitches for a team hovering on the boundary between buying and selling as his three-year, $24 million contract is set to expire.
On Friday, insider Jim Bowden of The Athletic proposed a hypothetical swap that would send Kelly to Toronto in exchange for left-handed pitcher Kendry Rojas and second baseman Sam Shaw, the Blue Jays’ number-eight and 24 prospects per MLB Pipeline.
“The Blue Jays are focused on acquiring a starting pitcher before the trade deadline and the veteran righty would be a good fit for them. Kelly, 36, is 6-3 with a 3.41 ERA over 15 starts and will be eligible for free agency at season’s end,” Bowden wrote.
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“He went to high school and college in Arizona and would like to finish his career as a Diamondback. However, if the D-Backs fall out of the National League wild-card race, perhaps they’d trade him as a rental for two solid prospects and then look to re-sign him in the offseason.”
Kelly went 3-1 with a 2.25 ERA in the 2023 playoffs. That included earning the win in an elimination game on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS, and in the Diamondbacks’ lone World Series win over the eventual champion Texas Rangers.
That’s the kind of arm the Blue Jays would love to have on their side as they seek a long-awaited postseason win, even if it comes at a steep cost.
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