Blue Jays-Marlins trade pitch sends $56M Cy Young winner to Toronto for World Series resurgence originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Toronto Blue Jays were just one win away from winning the World Series last season against the Los Angeles Dodgers. During the offseason, they made it a priority to target some of the best starting pitchers in the game.
Toronto signed players like Dylan Cease, Max Scherzer, and Shane Bieber to strengthen their rotation, giving them a chance to compete with some of the top pitching staffs in baseball.
“It was abundantly clear that the Toronto Blue Jays were aiming to upgrade the starting rotation this offseason. With the external additions of Cody Ponce and Dylan Cease, they achieved that goal. Not to mention, Toronto brought back Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer. At full strength, this starting rotation can compete with the league’s best,” SI’s Zion Trammel wrote.
The biggest challenge has been keeping everyone healthy, which has hampered much of Toronto’s early-season success. The Blue Jays currently have three key pitchers making rehab appearances.
“I didn’t realize this until Blake Murphy just clued me in: The starting pitchers for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons the next three days.. Dylan Cease, Max Scherzer, Shane Bieber. That’s a better top 3 (if healthy) than at least 1/3 of MLB teams right now,” MLB’s Mike Petriello wrote.
Toronto is likely to pursue another rotation addition via trade, with some belief that Sandy Alcantara of Miami could be a target.
“They’re not there yet, either, which is why Alcántara — who could replace Gausman in the rotation if he leaves in free agency this winter — makes sense. Despite their struggles, the Blue Jays find themselves only one game out of the final wild-card spot in the AL, and with a cavalcade of players set to come off the injured list — Dylan Cease, Alejandro Kirk, Addison Barger, Shane Bieber and Max Scherzer — Toronto is primed for a resurgence,” ESPN’s Jeff Passan wrote.
Toronto is one of the best teams in the American League when healthy, but that has been a major issue so far this season. Alcantara opened the year strong, showing flashes of his Cy Young form.
Alcantara is on a $56 million contract and also has a club option for next season. Getting Alcantara back to full form along with returning injured stars would give Toronto what it needs to get back into serious World Series contention. This season is far from over for the Blue Jays especially once they are healthy.
Source link
