The Toronto Blue Jays are likely to stay fairly neutral at the deadline, but center field stands out as one real area worth addressing.
Toronto sits last in the American League East, yet just 2.5 games out of a wild card spot, an odd position that keeps every trade avenue technically open.
The Athletic's Mitch Bannon has poured cold water on any real rebuild talk, noting the Blue Jays "have too many expensive players in their prime" to tear things down.
Toronto carries the fourth-highest payroll in baseball according to Spotrac, hardly the profile of a team about to sell off its core.
Bannon doesn't see many long-term roster holes either, but he singled out center field specifically as a spot worth upgrading.
Daulton Varsho has handled center field duties most of this season, hitting .244 with seven home runs across 83 games, and he's set for free agency once the year ends.
With free agency options limited beyond names like Trent Grisham, a trade looks like Toronto's more realistic path to a new starter at the position.
Three names Toronto could realistically pursue
Bannon pointed to Evan Carter, Oneil Cruz and Jake McCarthy as the players worth watching.
Carter starred for Texas during their 2023 World Series run but is slashing just .188/.302/.330 this season, a steep drop from his postseason heroics.
Cruz brings real power and speed, with 21 stolen bases this year, though his defense has been shaky, including 11 errors as the National League's center field leader in that category last season.
McCarthy might be the best fit of the three. He's slashing .301/.347/.516 in his first season with Colorado, and his 3.42 range factor per nine innings tops both Carter and Cruz.
It's a bit like choosing between three different used cars, each with a different tradeoff between reliability and raw performance.
All three players remain affordable through at least 2029 in arbitration or team control, meaning Toronto wouldn't need to overspend to make one of these fits work.
Does targeting a cost-controlled center fielder now set Toronto up better for 2027, or does it just delay a bigger decision about Varsho's actual future in Toronto?
Which outfielder would you want the Blue Jays to target: Jake McCarthy, Oneil Cruz, or Evan Carter?
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