Toronto Blue Jays: There's hope but things are going to get ugly

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It was no secret that the Toronto Blue Jays were going to be bad in 2018. A team with a stud at third base who has struggled to remain healthy since winning MVP in 2015, one of the best up and coming arms being sent away, young players struggling to find the brilliance they’ve shown since their rookie campaigns and a team full of question marks when it came to expiring contracts.

Sitting near the bottom of the MLB is exactly where they belong.

The team is now trying to move past this ugly season by doing whatever they can to acquire young talent in exchange for expiring contacts. The downfall to some of the deals however, is the Blue Jays are trading some of these players at the worst times of their career.

Roberto Osuna, 23, is arguably one of the best young arms in baseball, not to mention one of the best closers in baseball when he is healthy. He messed up and Toronto made him pay the price; but the Blue Jays are the ones who are going to suffer.

The Blue Jays wanted nothing more than to wash their hands with the situation. Domestic violence is no joke, but for a young man like Osuna, a guy who gave everything he had to make the ball club, coming from nothing and having no record prior to this incident, Toronto should’ve stuck by his side and help him get through it, not turn their back on him.

Due to the situation Osuna was in and the Blue Jays made it be known they wanted no part in it, the return they received was awful. Not to mention in the end the team just inherited another problem with taking on Ken Giles in the trade.

Toronto still could’ve traded Osuna at a later time and received more for him. It is clear they just wanted to be done with it all and move on which is understandable but at the same time it could have been handled better.

Then there is the Josh Donaldson issue. The 2015 AL MVP has struggled to stay healthy since winning the award. The batting numbers have stayed right where they have always been, it’s just getting him into the lineup. However; it isn’t the fact that he isn’t in the lineup in a lost season, the issue is that his contract expires at the end of the season and it is almost a for sure he will take his talents elsewhere.

He wasn’t dealt at the deadline primarily because he is injured and it is hurting his trade value. The Blue Jays want to obviously get a good return for him and they should get a respectable one if he is traded at the waiver deadline. The best time to move Donaldson would’ve been before this season started but since that ship has passed, Toronto better make sure they get something for him. Or else they would have screwed themselves out of two of the biggest trade pieces they had.

Along with Donaldson you can take your pick with whoever else may go. Curtis Granderson and Marco Estrada are just two guys who might have an emergency suitcase packed and ready to go. Any player with one year remaining on their contract or isn’t considered a future star should have a bag packed just in case because it is likely their name is being thrown around in trade talks.

Marcus Stroman and Aaron Sanchez both rushed onto the scene in Toronto. Both looking good as ever along with at times being thrown into the biggest games the franchise has held since winning the World Series in 1993. That has changed. Both pitchers have had their fair share of good appearances, bad ones, along with struggling to stay healthy. With Toronto clearing house and going into full sell mode, it is not surprising to hear their names came up in trade talks and it’s good that they weren’t moved, yet.

Sanchez is 26 while Stroman is 27. In a perfect world both these players return next season and return with a vengeance. If the team is still in bad shape like they are now, at least you have the option of trading them at a high point and not their low. But if the team allows them to walk for free, well that wouldn’t be smart.

TORONTO, CANADA – JULY 19: Marcus Stroman #54 of the Toronto Blue Jays delivers a pitch in the first inning during MLB game action against the Texas Rangers on July 19, 2014 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

The team is what many in the sports world call a tire fire. It’s ugly. But they are doing the right thing and trying to move pieces for young players or players who may not be superstars one day but could have an impact. There’s no beating around the bush with this either, they will be bad and they will be bad for years.

But with what is coming up the pipeline for Toronto it is safe to say there is a light at the end of the tunnel.