The Toronto Blue Jays might be one starting pitcher away from the promised land.
It's been a magical summer for the Blue Jays so far, as their series win over the New York Yankees gave them a four-game lead atop the American League East. And they've managed to get there without all that much help from their rotation.
Not only does the Toronto rotation rank 20th in ERA, but they're losing Chris Bassitt and Max Scherzer to free agency. Depending on how the market shakes out, they could either look to bring in long-term help or go all-in with a third expiring free agent.
On Thursday, ESPN's David Schoenfield predicted that they'd do the latter.
Schoenfield labeled the Blue Jays as the most likely team to haul in Arizona Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly ahead of next Thursday's trade deadline.
"We have (the Blue Jays) missing out on (Seth) Lugo and (Mitch) Keller, in part because their farm system isn't considered particularly strong, so the final domino on our list is Kelly going to Toronto," wrote Schoenfield.
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"Both (Kelly and Zac Gallen) are free agents, but Arizona could look to re-sign the older (and thus less expensive) Kelly in the offseason while keeping Gallen and giving him a qualifying offer to recoup a draft pick if he leaves as a free agent."
Kelly, 36, is the textbook definition of reliable. He's got a 3.32 ERA and 3.0 bWAR in 21 starts this year, and his 1.06 WHIP is the lowest of any full season in his career to this point.
Because pitching is in short supply, Kelly is likely to cost two top prospects even with his rental status. The Blue Jays would have to be prepared to decimate their farm system, but that's got to be the plan anyway if they're going all-in on a pennant chase in a weak AL.
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