A LOOK BACK - JAYS DEADLINE

Nicholas D'Agostino

It’s been over a month since the MLB trade deadline and even more so, enough time for various deadline deals across the MLB to show their true colours. At this deadline, the Blue Jays made three moves that addressed their specific needs. While Jays fans were rather unhappy with what the Jays did at the trade deadline, let's take a look at how these moves have played out so far.

The first move of the day for the Jays was a deal that sent infield prospect Jordan Groshans to Miami for two relief pitchers. Brampton native Zach Pop and former Blue Jay Anthony Bass. At the deadline, one of the team’s biggest needs was bullpen help.

With this deal the Jays got two pitchers who were enjoying good seasons in Miami. Zach Pop was pitching to a 3.60 ERA while also having an extremely good ground ball rate of 62.1%. This intrigued the Blue Jays which is why they decided he would be a good fit in their pen.

Since the trade Pop hasn’t seen as much time in the majors as was originally planned. But in his 7 appearances for the Jays he has a 2.70 ERA to go along with a ground ball percentage of 37%. In his limited time with the Blue Jays, Pop has looked good but with the Jays pen pitching much better since the deadline he has been forced to pitch in AAA.

On the other hand, the other relief pitcher the Jays got in this deal was Anthony Bass. The former Jay is having a tremendous season this year. Before the trade with the Marlins he was a monster in that bullpen for them as he continuously racked up strikeouts while pitching to an ERA under 2.

Since the trade he has picked up where he left off as in 14 innings with the Jays he has 15 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.29. Bass has brought extreme value to this team as the Jays have another trusted picther coming out of that bullpen in high leverage scenarios.

Bass has been an extremely effective set up man, which has allowed the Jays to have an easier time getting to Romano to finish it off in the ninth. The way these other deadline deals have played out so far it is no question that this one has brought the most value as the Jays got two arms in their bullpen to help for their current playoff push.

Grade: A-

The second trade they made on deadline day was acquiring infielder Whit Merrifield from the Royals. When this trade was announced, a lot of Jays fans were a little puzzled and confused as to exactly how this trade would be beneficial to the team. With the Royals Whit Merrifield was an everyday player and most often their leadoff hitter.

The former All-Star was not having a great season and with the Jays he has been nothing better than a depth piece on the bench. Personally, I believe Merrifield can bring value to any team as he has a track record of low strikeout rates, he can steal bases and he can play almost every position in the field. While there's a lot to like about Merrifield, why isn't he producing with the Jays?

So far with the Toronto Merrifield is hitting .214 with 1 homer and 3 rbis in 61 plate appearances. It’s safe to say this trade hasn’t been the greatest so far but it doesn't mean that it can’t turn out great. Merrifield is a good ball player and I wouldn’t give up on him just yet. You never know who will do something special when you're on a postseason chase.

Grade: C

The last trade the Jays made was bringing in Mitch White from the Dodgers. This season, White had been pitching well in LA. For the most part he was in LA's rotation as a guy who would get through the order two times or so. He had a 3.70 ERA in 15 games and as a starter he seemed as though he might have some untapped potential.

The Jays were looking to sure up their rotation at the deadline and while Mitch White isn’t Noah Syndergaard or Frankie Montas it is obvious the Jays believe White can provide value to their team. Since coming over from the Dodgers White has been given the chance to be in the rotation due to Kikuchi’s struggles.

In 5 starts as a Blue Jays White has a 7.04 ERA which isn’t great but his ERA is inflated due to his last two starts in which he gave up 7 against the Angels and 6 against the Cubs. Before that he gave up 1 run in each of his last 2 out of 3 starts.

White has been able to get through 4 innings in each of his 5 starts as a Jay which is a positive. White has also been able to be a consistent pitcher in each of his starts with the Jays. So far since the trade White has definitely shown encouraging signs of a picture that he can become and with the Jays having years of control with him their outlook should be a somewhat positive one.

Grade: C

While these trades weren’t any of the big ones Jays fans were hoping for on deadline day I think it’s safe to say that they are definitely a better team now then they were before the deadline. Whether you like these moves or not the Jays got better and at this time of the year that’s all you are looking for.