To say I fear the trade deadline every year is an understatement. Now while I love saying hi to new faces (especially when it’s extremely talented players like David Price and Troy Tulowitzki), saying goodbye to any Blue Jays player is something I deeply struggle with. To be honest, I still miss Encarnacion, Reyes, Norris…the list is never-ending. I try to be strong at the trade deadline but with all the rumours swirling weeks before it, it’s hard. This year was no different.

         Happy Hellos: Norichika Aoki, Teoscar Hernandez, Tom Pannone and Samad Taylor

         Sad Salutes: Francisco Liriano and Joe Smith         

          Now, the 2017 trade deadline wasn’t nearly as big as 2015, where the Blue Jays picked up Tigers’ David Price and Rockies’ star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki. This trade deadline, in my words, was “merely underwhelming.” We’ve been hearing the trade rumours for weeks now: “This may be Marco Estrada’s last start as a Blue Jay” and “The Blue Jays are going to blow it all up and sell everyone.” Never believe the rumours. Marco Estrada is still a Blue Jay and the Jays didn’t  sell off the whole team. In actuality, Toronto sold two players. Talk about a “blow up”.

The Blue Jays underwhelming trade deadline involved trades with the Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians. Francisco Liriano, who for the weeks prior was in the trade spotlight, was traded to the Astros, with the Blue Jays getting outfielders Norichika Aoki and Teoscar Hernandez. In Houston’s farm system. Hernandez is ranked 8th and the Blue Jays are confident he can be an everyday outfielder next year. 

The only other trade the Blue Jays made was with Cleveland where they traded relief pitcher Joe Smith and received minor leaguers Tom Pannone (LHP) and Samad Taylor (2B) in return.