Last July, the Oakland Athletics were buyers at the trade deadline for the fourth straight season before gutting their roster — the difference-making third baseman among the trades — once the lockout ended. With the Toronto Blue Jays, he returns to a club looking to grow ahead of the Aug. 2 cutoff, as curious as anyone about what’s next. “I feel like this is what I’m used to,” Chapman said before hitting his 19th home run in a 4-2 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Friday night. “If your team is in it, you should try to make yourself a little bit better because everyone else is doing it. We want to win and our goal is to win a World Series, so this is exciting. “I saw Oakland coming, I just didn’t know when, and I’m thankful that I came here and thankful that it happened early in the season. Trading in the middle of a season is probably a combination of things. I’m happy, I’m settled and whoever we get, we’ll be excited to get it.” Intrigue continued to build Friday about exactly who the Blue Jays could be acquiring. One way of thinking is that adding a top-tier leverage arm or two to the bullpen remains their biggest opportunity, both bolstering the depth behind closer Jordan Romano and fortifying the bridge to him. But while George Springer left Thursday’s 5-3 win early with right elbow discomfort, raising concerns about the club’s lack of center field depth, a more troubling reminder of how weak the rotation is came in its sixth inning. Friday, when Alec Manoa was forced to leave the game. when returning Jonathan Sup caught him in the right elbow. The All-Star righty doubled over in pain and circled the mound, waiting for the sting to wear off before a hushed crowd of 28,046. Head coach Jose Ministral ran out and after an extended discussion, Tim Mayza was called from the bullpen. X-rays on Manoah later came back negative and he was diagnosed with an elbow contusion, a major blowout for the Blue Jays. Now, overreacting in a single moment is not a good way to run any business. But given the internal debate the Blue Jays are having about how best to support the club, the rotation is probably the most exposed area in the event of an injury or if Yusei Kikuchi’s promising outing on Thursday turns out to be more of a fluke than a bounce. For that reason, projecting an elite starter, made more difficult by the Seattle Mariners’ reported acquisition of Luis Castillo in a trade with the Cincinnati Reds late Friday night, may well be the wisest course of action. Without Castillo in the game, that market is much thinner, with Pablo Lopez of the Miami Marlins, Frankie Montas of Oakland or perhaps a creative outfielder-for-Jose Urquidy with Houston. The Reds’ path forward with Castillo has been clear, while the Marlins’ plans are less set, with a source saying they want “a ton” of Lopez to influence their decision. The high price is more than justified for both, but one of the key challenges for buyers this time of year is determining what’s real and what’s not, lest they spend days chasing their tails against a team that’s just trying to measure value. The Los Angeles Angels might be Exhibit A in that regard with Shohei Ohtani, who would be an obvious focal point for any contender if not for the skepticism about whether or not he will be dealt. A deal of this size is difficult to pull off on such a tight schedule — think of the runway the Washington Nationals created in the Juan Soto sweepstakes — making it risky to invest manpower in an Ohtani pursuit when the clock is running out and the Angels’ intent unclear . Ohtani is, obviously, the dream addition, even more so than Soto, but the Reds were clearly selling Castillo, and the Blue Jays don’t really have a sixth baseman if they need one for the rotation. Rookie Max Castillo has impressed in a small sample, but has thrown just 12.1 innings since July 7, just two of those last two weeks. To suddenly think it’s going to carry five or more frames every five days is really real-time scripting. As a general rule, relievers are volatile, and the Blue Jays have been and remain largely reluctant to divert significant resources, both in dollars and prospect capital, to them. That suggests they’ll target bullpen rentals more specifically to minimize spending and avoid annual risk, making, say, David Robertson or Daniel Bard more likely than, say, Gregory Soto or David Bednar. The Tigers fielded relievers across the board to close out the win, with slugger Joe Jimenez (one-plus seasons of contract control) handling the seventh, pending free agent Michael Fulmer working the eighth and Gregory Soto (three-plus contract season control) the ninth. Six of the 10 batters they faced struck out, the kind of relief the Blue Jays need. If the price is right, the Blue Jays would happily have two of those three cross the diamond this weekend, but the Tigers would be wise to play things on the edge and see if need makes a desperate club overpay , perhaps even grossly. If that’s what it’s going to take, spend big on an elite starter, as they make a better bet beyond this year than a Bednar or Soto, and aside from the health concerns, the Blue Jays will also be considering workload of Manoah and Ross Stripling. With another 5.1 innings on Friday, Manoah is now at 126 innings, four frames away from surpassing the career high he set last year, while Stripling, at 78.1 frames, is within range of 101. 1 innings pitched in 2021. Protecting them while also protecting them from injury and potential instability at Kikuchi certainly seems like a priority. As these thoughts play out in the background, all the Blue Jays players can do is mind their own business when they’re on the field and consider the possibilities when they’re not, free from the players’ stress and anxiety to sell properly the groups. now. “I enjoy this time of year because it’s earned now and that’s all I really want to do, win,” Chapman said. “It’s fun to think about who you could get and what happens. But it looks like a lot more teams are adding than subtracting this year, so it could be anyone’s ball game. I learned that this team is committed, the front office knows what they want to do and I think they’re doing some evaluation right now. But this team right now, we’re good enough to compete with anybody. Whatever we get makes us much better.”
