Are the scorching Blue Jays for real?
“They are if they trade for (Jeff) Samardzija,” an American League executive said on Thursday. “And I’ve got to believe they’ll go hard for him. They went all in last year because they thought the division was there to be taken.
“Well, now it is, and they’ve put themselves in position, but they probably need another front-line starter. Why wouldn’t they do it?”
Makes sense. The Jays need to reach the postseason to justify their pre-2013 trades for aging pitchers R.A. Dickey and Mark Buerhle, as well as Jose Reyes, so you’d think GM Alex Anthopoulos would be looking to seize the moment.
The Jays, who had a nine-game winning streak before falling 8-6 to the Royals in 10 innings Thursday night, have the offensive firepower to win the watered-down AL East.
With Reyes and a re-born Melky Cabrera setting the table for bash brothers Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, Toronto was leading the AL in runs scored, home runs, slugging percentage and OPS.
With Buerhle riding a career-best wave and Dickey knuckleballing nicely, if nothing like his Cy Young season with the Mets, the Jays’ starting pitching has been better than expected.
Samardzija, who can be a free agent after 2015, is the obvious guy to put them over the top, and the rebuilding Cubs seem likely to trade the 29-year-old righthander.
The Yankees, of course, would love to deal for Samardzija themselves, but they may not be a good match since the Cubs will be looking for young pitching to go with their highly touted position-player prospects.
The Orioles are thought to be very interested in trading for the Cubs’ righthander as well, and they’re in a position similar to the Blue Jays, needing a top pitcher.
But the Jays’ pursuit would be especially intriguing since Anthopoulos looked like the big loser a year ago, especially in his trade with the Mets, dealing Noah Syndergaard and Travis d’Arnaud for Dickey and Josh Thole.
This year, however, Dickey (5-4, 4.30) has bounced back from a mediocre 2013, and Thole was hitting .340 as the backup catcher, while d’Arnaud has yet to blossom.
Of course, if Syndergaard lives up to the scouting reports, he might just make the trade look bad for the Blue Jays for years to come.
“Don’t think Alex doesn’t know that, either,” said a fellow AL exec.
But would the Jays give up promising 23-year-old righthander Drew Hutchison, who has been solid for them in his rookie season? Baseball people feel they’d probably have to as part of a package for Samardzija.
It would be a gamble, especially if Samardzija could leave after next season. Then again, the real gamble was last year. Now the Jays have a shot at a payoff.
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