Top 5 Deadline Deals for Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins

List likely to remain intact as Jays approach '26 deadline as sellers

The MLB trade deadline arrives Monday, August 3 at 6:00 p.m. Eastern. The Blue Jays would seem to be “sellers” as they struggle with injuries and underachievement from key players, men that management and fans had hoped would be able to duplicate the 2025 heroics that resulted in the team’s first trip to the World Series since 1993.

It may surprise many casual followers in a Jays’ nation-wide fanbase that Ross Atkins is presiding over his 11^th trade deadline as general manager. Only Hall-of-Famer Pat Gillick has accumulated more seasons as Jays GM, a total of 17 year from 1978 through 1994. Following Gillick as GM, in chronological order, have been Gord Ash (1995-2002), J.P. Ricciardi (2002-09), Alex Anthopoulos (2010-15) and Atkins.

Following is a very subjective list of the five best Atkins trades that were made in the final week before trade deadlines through his 10 previous years at the helm.

1 - July 31, 2017 … OF Teoscar Hernandez and OF Nori Aoki from the Astros for LHP Francisco Liriano.

I remember interviewing a wide-eyed and grateful-to-be-here Teoscar on his first day at Rogers Centre. He shyly pointed out that he had his entire family there, parents and siblings, and was thrilled at the new opportunity. He was an unknown 24-year-old, at the time, blocked in the Houston outfield by George Springer, Josh Reddick, Marwin Gonzalez, Derek Fisher and Jake Marisnick.

While the cheating Astros went on to beat the Dodgers in the ’17 World Series, with Springer as Fall Classic MVP, Teoscar continued to develop as an everyday outfielder in Toronto, becoming a key piece of the Jays offence through 2022 and a friend and mentor to Vlad Guerrero Jr. Liriano, going the other way, had been obtained from the Pirates at the 2016 deadline and had been useful but not important.

2 – August 31, 2020 … LHP Robbie Ray from the Diamondbacks for LHP Travis Bergen.

What looked like a roll of the dice as the Jays toiled away at their temporary home in Buffalo, this move paid off with Ray re-signing for one year as a free agent after the ’20 season, responding to his new environment and to pitching coach Pete Walker.

Arriving to the Jays with a reputation as a scatter-armed lefty with a great arm, Ray learned and earned the 2021 Cy Young Award with a 13-7 record and a 2.84 ERA in 32 starts, leading the AL in strikeouts. The Jays won 91 games in ‘21, with a rotation of Ray, Hyun Jin Ryu, Steven Matz, Alek Manoah and Ross Stripling/Jose Berrios. Bergen was reacquired in ’21.

3 – July 30, 2021 … RHP Jose Berrios from the Twins for IF Austin Martin and RHP Simeon Woods-Richardson.

The Jays at the ’21 deadline reached out for Berrios, one of the top starters in the game, already a two-time Twins pitcher-of-the-year. He responded down the stretch, as advertised and re-signed a significant long-term deal in the off-season. Berrios for the next four years continued his consistent workload, but the relationship has soured and with two player option years left, at 32-years-old, his future is uncertain.

The Jays had drafted the highly-touted Martin fifth overall the year before out of the baseball factory that is Vanderbilt U., but he was disappointing up close and personal when given a chance to participate at the ’20 summer camp prior to the shortened season. Woods-Richardson had been obtained in the Marcus Stroman deal with the Mets along with LHP Anthony Kay.

4 – July 31, 2025 … RHP Louis Varland and 1B Ty France from the Twins for OF Alan Roden and RH Kendry Rojas.

This trade has a chance to quickly move up the list over the next few years. Observers wondered about the sagacity of the Twins trading Varland, a homegrown Minnesota native with five more years of control who throws 100 m.p.h.

But after a half season and a playoff run, following the initial shock of adjusting to his new home, working in middle relief with mixed results, but taking the ball from his manager every time he was called upon, the 28-year-old has emerged as one of the top closers in baseball, allowing former ace, Jeff Hoffman, to find a comfort level in a setup role.

France was an important bench player on the way to the World Series, moving on as a free agent in the off-season. Roden and Rojas have yet to make a significant impact.

5 – July 31, 2025 … C Brandon Valenzuela from the Padres for IF Will Wagner.

In a somewhat roundabout way, the World Baseball Classic played an important role in Valenzuela’s emergence as an increasingly relied upon backup for the major-league Jays. Paired with Alejandro Kirk as the first all-Mexican primary catching duo in major-league history, the 25-year-old Valenzuela took advantage of Kirk’s spring training absence with Team Mexico to show John Schneider and the coaching staff what he could do in his extended look in Grapefruit League action.

When there was an opening early in the season, Valenzuela stepped up and in the end clearly beat out the incumbent backup, veteran Tyler Heineman. With Kirk signed to a multi-year contract, this duo could remain together for years to come.