Now that the team is over 14 games out of first place in the American League east, clearly the Blue Jays can be sellers if they want to, but the question is will they and with names like Josh Johnson, Mark Buehrle and even Jose Bautista being mentioned in deals, will; the team make any moves?
The team had a nice streak earlier in the season that brought them back into contention, but now after dealing with injuries to Jose Reye and Brandon Morrow, it appears as if the team is willing to sell now. The team has been one of the most inconsistent in the league and has a minus-28 run differential and after making big moves in the offseason, it clearly hasn't added up and now it might be time to start being sellers on the market to build for the next few years in the American League East.
The team is dealing with some injuries on the pitching staff, including to Brandon Morrow, who would have been one of the options the team could have dealt at the deadline. The top names still remain in Josh Johnson and Mark Buehrle, but it depends on what types of offers the front office receives. According to Hardball Talk, Morrow is now on the disabled list with a forearm injury and with a prognosis of six weeks for recovery at least, it likely means that he is done for the season.
Dr. James Andrews looked at Morrow's arm this week and said that he had a serious forearm issue and now his best chance to comeback is in September and by then the Blue Jays could be even farther out of things. Morrow has a 2-3 record with a 5.63 ERA in 54 innings and that is a far cry from last season when he went 124 innings with a 2.96 ERA and 108 strikeouts.
The Blue Jays are now 45-55 and the wild card race is getting increasingly harder to get back into. Johnson is likely the top candidate to get moved and a number of teams could be interested, including the Cardinals, Pirates, Dodgers, Rangers, Yankees, Orioles and the Tigers. The team just got swept by the Dodgers and now it looks extremely likely that they will start selling for the deadline as they try to build for the future.
Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com reports on Twitter: "Morrow has been diagnosed with an entrapped radial nerve in his right forearm by Dr. James Andrews. Recovery time is expected to be 6 weeks."
And in crazy town rumors from earlier in the season:
The Miami Marlins are going to be a team that everyone mentions in trade rumors and one that has come up recently that seems crazy is moving Giancarlo Stanton to the Mets for Matt Harvey, who started the All-Star game for the NL this summer.
According to the Miami Herald, a deal that has been talked about but not actually presented yet is a Stanton for Harvey deal and while it seems crazy because of how good the young pitcher is, the Marlins could try and sway the Mets to do it since they have no real offense to speak of. Harvey has been fantastic while entering the second half with a 2.47 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP after going 8-2 with 157 strikeouts and the Cy Young candidate has been everything the Mets have hoped for.
One thing that could sway the team is the fact that they have Zack Wheeler after getting him from the Giants, but while he is a highly touted player, he is not up to the same level as Harvey. The Mets are putting in an innings limit for him this season and he has been fantastic, throwing one of the hardest fastballs in the league while also making Mets games a must watch every time he starts. Harvey was pegged as the starter for the All-Star game and while Stanton is not having his best year, he is an elite talent as well, so that does match up.
While it seems crazy, the Mets have not been able to score for years and while Harvey is great, he pitches once every five days while Stanton can play every day in the lineup. The Marlins already have Jose Fernandez and he could be a solid one two with Harvey in the rotation. Harvey is looking fantastic right now and he is on his way to being one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. The Mets just have David Wright and now much else and with this season another one without the postseason, perhaps they could be swayed to make a deal.
Stanton has come up a lot in trades because the Marlins trade everyone, but the team has said that they want to sign him long term, but the worse the team plays the harder that will become. Stanton is the only elite player left on the team and they actually could save a great deal in the long-term if they trade him before he becomes an arbitration player. Any number of teams would be interested.
Stanton has been mentioned in numerous trade rumors this summer and last year when the team pulled off deals with the Dodgers and Blue Jays and while so far no deal has been made, that could change soon. The Texas Rangers need outfield help and although they are rumored in trades for Matt Garza and Alfonso Soriano, they also could look at Giancarlo Stanton and one player that could sway the Marlins in young prospect Jurickson Profar.
