The Toronto Blue Jays are off to a fine start to their 2012 regular season.
Sitting third in the division with a 15-11 record through 26 games, the Jays have been impressive through April and early May.
But does the current roster have enough starting pitching to compete all season long? Probably not. The Jays have a rotation stacked with young pitchers who have an incredibly high ceiling, but they don’t have a legitimate fifth starter at the moment.
If Toronto is to compete for one of the five American League playoff spots through the dog days of summer, it is more than likely that GM Alex Anthopolous will need to go out and acquire another starting pitcher.
Let’s take a look at what teams may be willing to make a deal with the Blue Jays down the stretch.
While the Brewers may not have been looking to make any moves this early, the recent injury to their starting first baseman Mat Gamel means the Brewers could be looking to make a deal to fill that void.
Enter Adam Lind.
While some Jays fans may be growing impatient with Lind, it is undeniable that a 28-year-old left-handed first baseman, who has put up an average of 28 home runs and 91 RBI over the last three seasons, has some value.
While it’s almost certain that the Brewers won’t be willing to part with either Zack Greinke or Yovani Gallardo, it isn’t out of the question that the Jays could net former Blue Jay Shaun Marcum in return for Adam Lind and a mid-level prospect.
It’s no secret that the Giants have a starting rotation as deep as any around baseball. With the likes of Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, young phenom Madison Bumgarner, Ryan Vogelsong and Barry Zito, the Giants are definitely deep when it comes to starting pitching.
It isn’t likely, however, that they’d be willing to deal away Lincecum, Cain or Bumgarner, and unless the Giants are willing to eat a large portion of Barry Zito’s contract, I can’t see Alex Anthopolous making an effort to acquire the veteran left-hander.
This leaves Ryan Vogelsong.
Vogelsong is a 34-year-old right-hander who struggled early in his career when he was with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. But he has since settled down in San Francisco. Last season, Vogelsong threw 179.2 innings over 28 starts, posting a 2.71 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and striking out 139 batters.
So far this season, he’s got a respectable 3.42 ERA through four starts.
He’s the type of veteran bottom-of-the-rotation kind of pitcher the Jays need. As long as the asking price isn’t too high, this would be a great move for Alex Anthopolous to make going forward.
The Cubs are another good match for the Jays. They are currently in rebuilding mode and may be looking to deal a starter like Ryan Dempster.
Besides an atrocious start to last season, Dempster has proven to be a consistent starter for last four seasons.
A Canadian boy who is oozing with experience and is currently on fire is just what the doctor ordered for a young Jays rotation that is still in need of a middle- to bottom-of-the-rotation guy.
The Jays also have just what the Cubs need: pitching and outfield prospects. Other than Brett Jackson (who is having his own troubles at Triple-A Iowa), the Cubs don’t have many outfielders on their roster or in their system. A guy like Travis Snider is precisely what Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer may be looking to pick up—especially considering that the Cubs have had a major power outage from their outfield so far this season.
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