The Toronto Blue Jays are the hottest team in Major League Baseball right now and have taken a two-game lead over the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East.
Toronto is on a six-game winning streak and has won eight of its last 10 games. After losing two of three against the Chicago White Sox, the Blue Jays went on a tear including a sweep of the then first place Yankees.
Toronto’s bullpen is sixth in MLB with a 3.70 ERA, but adding a dominant reliever to the back end of the ‘pen would make the unit even stronger.
FanSided’s Christopher Kline suggested three players that would help Toronto win the AL East for the first time in a decade, including a dominant closer.
Boston Red Sox reliever Aroldis Chapman has aged like fine wine and should be the best reliever on the table at the trade deadline.
Chapman, 37, is a seven-time All-Star and a two-time World Series champion. He has been spectacular this season, posting a 3-2 record with a minuscule 1.29 ERA and a 0.77 WHIP in 38 appearances.
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“If the Red Sox keep slipping out of contention, there's no reason not to trade a 37-year-old Aroldis Chapman midway through a one-year contract,” wrote Kline. “Chapman and Hoffman give Toronto power-throwing relievers — one southpaw, one righty — to anchor the back of the bullpen and preserve leads in late-inning situations.”
Jeff Hoffman, 32, is in his first season as the Blue Jays closer and he has been fine but not dominant. He is 6-2 with a 4.58 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP in 39 appearances while converting 21 of 25 save opportunities.
Toronto was hoping to get Philadelphia Phillies Hoffman, who was as dominant as anybody in his two-year stint with the club, but it hasn't gone as well as they thought it would.
Adding a lockdown reliever like Chapman could propel the Blue Jays to a division title and potentially a deep playoff run.
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