As MLB trade season officially heats up following Rafael Devers’ blockbuster move to the San Francisco Giants, speculation is swirling about which teams may follow suit.
However, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney, fans of the Toronto Blue Jays shouldn’t expect their team to make headline-grabbing trades ahead of the July 31 deadline.
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Speaking on TSN1050’s First Up, Olney addressed Toronto’s stance amid growing trade chatter. Despite the recent Devers deal setting off a flurry of speculation, Olney believes the Blue Jays are unlikely to enter the fray with a major acquisition.
“I wouldn’t have been surprised if the Blue Jays had the best offer and [Boston] still traded within the division,” Olney said, emphasizing that the Red Sox front office doesn’t shy away from intra-division deals. Nonetheless, he added, “I don’t think a deal for Devers made much sense for Toronto.”
While trades within the same division are rare due to the intensity of rivalries, the Red Sox and Blue Jays have history—most notably the 2018 trade that sent Steve Pearce to Boston, where he later earned World Series MVP honors.
Olney argues that Toronto’s current roster is largely set. “Big and gaudy trades at the deadline aren’t likely, because they’ve done that already,” he noted, referencing recent signings like pitchers Kevin Gausman and Chris Bassitt, key trade acquisitions like Andres Gimenez and Erik Swanson, and homegrown stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette.
Currently, the Blue Jays sit among the league’s most offensively potent teams, ranking fourth in runs scored (123) over the past 30 days, while maintaining a solid middle-of-the-pack defensive performance (13th in runs allowed).
“The die is kind of cast,” Olney concluded. “This is the team that’s going to either make or miss the playoffs.”
FanGraphs currently gives the Blue Jays a 56% chance of reaching the postseason, a figure that suggests confidence in their current roster rather than urgency for reinforcements.
In a market where other franchises are scrambling to fill injury-induced gaps, the Blue Jays appear content to rely on what they’ve already built.
