The Toronto Blue Jays are at a crossroads.
Despite what could be described as an ugly season by Canada’s baseball team, they find themselves just 6.5 games out of the second wildcard spot in the American League, as of July 25.
But here is the problem.
In order to climb into the final wildcard spot they have to gain between 0.5 and 6.5 games on eight teams.
That is not exactly easy to do.
Is it possible? Sure.
But it is not likely.
So that brings us to what do they do now?
With the non-waiver trade deadline fast approaching on July 31 they have to decide what direction they are going to head.
With two of their starting pitchers due for free agency in Francisco Liriano and Marco Estrada, both of whom have pitched poorly this season, the Jays have to decide whether they will either resign them, lose them for nothing, or trade them now and get back whatever assets they can, even if that is not much.
Beyond those two the Jays have a bevy of players who the Jays could look to move.
The one player who keeps popping up is former Most Valuable Player Josh Donaldson.
Donaldson is one year away from unrestricted free agency, is due a raise, and is a fiery guy who wants to win.
Do the Jays have a shot at resigning him?
Can they afford to resign him?
If they feel the answer to either of those questions is no, the time to move him is now.
The value of a player always drops with one or less years remaining on his contract, so to get the best value and to rebuild a thin prospect pool they need to move him if they feel they will not be able to keep him in a year and a half’s time.
Other veteran players include Troy Tulowitzki, who makes a lot of money and has seen his stock drop in recent years but could still prove to be a valuable addition to a team looking to make an upgrade at shortstop. Jose Bautista, whose play has dropped in recent seasons, is best suited to being a situational hitter.
The Jays also have a bevy of young players they could look to move including Aaron Sanchez, Marcus Stroman, and Roberto Osuna.
Both Stroman and Sanchez are valuable additions at the starting pitcher position, but both have struggled with blister problems at times this season, especially Sanchez, who has missed most of the season.
Osuna meanwhile is an excellent addition to the back end of a teams bullpen.
All three are also under team control for several more seasons so they would not be a rental type, meaning the Jays could fetch a kings ransom.
Kevin “Superman” Pillar might also be an option to teams looking to upgrade their centre fielder position.
What the Jays decide to do with that quartet will be very interesting.
That decision time for those four and the rest of the roster is now upon us.
It is time they make their decision.
