The Blue Jays picked up another victory Monday, defeating the Rays by a 6-4 count to improve to 14-13 at just about the halfway position of the season. Several envisioned the Blue Jays to force for a playoff location this year, but they’re a mere two games back again of wild-card situation in the American League. With the trade deadline just a 7 days absent, Toronto could wind up as a consumer. Indeed, general manager Ross Atkins mentioned very last week that the Jays are aiming to strengthen their rotation, and Jon Morosi of MLB.com reports that the team’s “considering” a pair of Pirates appropriate-handers in Trevor Williams and Chad Kuhl.
Toronto’s rotation has taken several hits in new times, as Nate Pearson, Matt Shoemaker and Trent Thornton have absent on the hurt list. As a end result, Hyun Jin Ryu, Tanner Roark and Chase Anderson are the only guaranteed factors in the club’s rotation, though Ryu’s the lone member of the trio who has available a mix of potent bottom-line generation and encouraging peripherals so considerably this year.
In Williams or Kuhl, the Blue Jays would land a hurler capable of contributing to their rotation outside of this season. Both of those are controllable for several yrs, but Williams is the a lot more confirmed of the pair. The 28-calendar year-previous was a reliable starter for the Pirates from 2017-18 right before falling off final year, when he logged 145 2/3 innings of 5.38 Era/5.12 FIP ball, but appears to be to be amid a rebound campaign. Williams has created five begins in 2020 and posted 24 1/3 innings of 3.70 Era/4.21 FIP ball with 8.51 K/9 and 2.96 BB/9. He’s on a prorated $2.825MM salary this 12 months and has a different two arbitration-eligible seasons remaining.
Kuhl also has two arb decades left just after 2020, even though he’s at present earning a less costly income than Williams (a prorated $840K). The 27-yr-old is off to a decent start out this season following missing all of 2019 as a outcome of Tommy John surgical treatment. Kuhl has built five appearances (3 starts off) in the early likely, averaged upward of 94 mph on his fastball and registered a 2.84 Era/4.98 FIP with 9. K/9 and 3.32 BB/9 above 19 innings.
Neither Williams nor Kuhl would command a haul for the Pirates, who are perfectly out of playoff competition. As Morosi notes, though, the Blue Jays could make for a rational trade spouse since of the familiarity first-year Bucs basic supervisor Ben Cherington has with Toronto’s farm system. Prior to having in excess of the Pirates, Cherington was a promiment section of the Jays’ front office.
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