If there is a team in the American League East that should be kicking ass and taking names, it should be the Blue Jays. They are one of the few teams in baseball who can and do hit home runs whenever they want to but, as fast as they score runs, they also give back. As their core players Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Mark Buehrle and Jose Reyes get older, their window of opportunity fast approaches. Toronto needs pitching and, if rumors are to be believed, they are in for every pitcher that might be available come trade deadline.
One look at the Blue Jays' pitching statistics tells you why they are in the trade market for pitching. ISportsWeb informs us, "They have a team earned run average of 4.14, which is one of the worst in baseball. Their opponent batting average is not much better, as other teams are hitting .256 off of them. In fact, the Toronto Blue Jays are one of the bottom ten teams in every major pitching category."
MLB Trade Rumors says that the Blue Jays are interested in Mike Fiers. Concerns that he doesn't throw very hard and is an extreme fly ball pitcher, which isn't a recipe for success at Rogers Centre in Toronto. The stadium, largely, plays very hitter friendly. However, it must be noted that he is currently employed by the Milwaukie Brewers, who also play in a very hitter friendly park. Says MLB Trade Rumors, "Should Toronto elect to get more serious about its pursuit, the team has a nice stable of prospects that are close to the Majors as well as some high-upside prospects further down the pipeline."
The Blue Jays have two gifted players in Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion who represent probably their best chance to win it all. Both are getting older, Bautista is 34 and Encarnacion 32. Most people agree that the first step baseball's only Canadian franchise needs to take is starting pitching. That is, if they want to go deep in the playoffs.
