TORONTO — The next two weeks will shape the Toronto Blue Jays' plan for Major League Baseball's upcoming trade deadline.
It's not just that other teams will be deciding their needs in the coming days. The Blue Jays will also know if pitchers Hyun-Jin Ryu and Chad Green will return from their Tommy John surgeries.
Toronto general manager Ross Atkins said that if Ryu returns to the rotation and Green can join the bullpen, the Blue Jays front office will be able to focus on other needs ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline.
"We feel very strongly about their track records, some of their playoff experiences, some of the just overall experiences as very, very good performers," said Atkins on Wednesday in the home dugout at Rogers Centre. "We're certainly optimistic that we're going to have them as options, but we also have to plan if someone has a setback, performance issues, or injury.
"But that's the case for everyone. You can never have enough pitching as they say, so we have a contingency plan but having that as a starting point is a good place to be."
Ryu underwent Tommy John surgery in June 2022, but was at Rogers Centre on Wednesday as he continued to work his way back into shape.
He was capped at 65 pitches in a start for the triple-A Buffalo last Saturday, allowing one run on three hits in five innings to earn the win as the Bisons beat the Toledo Mud Hens 8-2. Ryu struck out five and didn't walk a batter in the victory and will start for the Bisons again on Friday with an 85-pitch cap.
If Ryu continues to progress Atkins said Toronto could run a six-man rotation with Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, José Berríos, Yusei Kiuchi and Alek Manoah through late July into mid August.
"There's some reason to consider that. Without the off days, I think we have 17 in a row and so (a six-man rotation) is something we're talking about," said Atkins. "There's a lot of variables, but having that as an option would be a good thing."
Green had Tommy John surgery in May 2022 while he was still with the New York Yankees. The elite reliever signed with the Blue Jays in the off-season and is also on track to join the team before the trade deadline. He will make his first rehab appearance on Saturday with Toronto's Class-A affiliate in Dunedin, Fla.
"Every step of the way we've just seen progress and he feels really good, he's recovering really well," said Atkins of Green. "The stuff is there and I think it's going to continue to trend positive.
"I think the difficult thing is putting a concrete timeline on it, but the fact that he's going to be in a game and facing hitters with umpires on Saturday is the next step."
If Ryu and Green do return in a timely fashion, Atkins and the Blue Jays front office will likely shift their attention to the team's offence. The trick will be to add some scoring ability without trading away any of Toronto's current core of players.
"We believe in this group so much that making it better, we have to work to do it without some level of subtraction," said Atkins. "We do think there's a way to add a little bit of offence to the team without having to subtract anyone."
Toronto (53-42) was third in the American League East heading into Wednesday night's game with the visiting San Diego Padres. The Blue Jays held the second of three wild-card spots before that interleague matchup.
As a playoff contender, Toronto will definitely be a buyer at the deadline but Atkins said that the trade market remains in flux as other teams figure out where they stand.
"If you just look and see at all the teams that are statistically in it, are saying that they're in it, or saying that they're in somewhat of a wait mode, it's over 20 teams that are in that category," said Atkins. "I don't expect that to be the case in two weeks.
"That's one of the reasons that the deadline usually the most action is in a flurry of moves that happens just before it."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 19, 2023.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
