The Toronto Blue Jays have been off to another slow start in 2014 and trade rumors have once again come up involving names like Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, José Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Brett Lawrie and they could be on the trading block heading into the deadline this summer and teams like the NY Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets or Texas Rangers could be interested and now there is news that the team could be interested in Dan Uggla with the Atlanta Braves.
The Blue Jays have been looking to get into the mix in the AL East for each of the past few seasons and they have not been able to do that despite a nice mix of talent and pitching and now GM Alex Anthopoulos may look to move his core out of Canada and build a new one. According to the Sporting News, Buehrle is one of the early names mentioned among pitchers that could move this summer, as he is having a great year for Toronto and could be a target for a team like the Yankees, who lost Ivan Nova to shoulder surgery and both Michael Pineda and CC Sabathia to injuries.
During the offseason, SNY.com and SI.com reported that the Blues Jays were looking to possibly move Bautista and this comes as he has been one of the most consistent home run hitters in the league. The report said the Mets could be interested, while some deeper rumors came out about the Phillies and their interest, but no deal ever came close to happening. Encarnacion could be the player they decide to keep out of the group, while Reyes has been mentioned as possible trade bait since he was first acquired by the Jays. A team like the Yankees could be an option if Derek Jeter continues to struggle, but they need more pitching now that anything else and that is where the focus of Brian Cashman will likely be until he sees what he gets back from Sabathia and Pineda as they heal from injuries.
Buehrle has been great this season and after starting off 5 -1 with a 2.25 ERA, 23 strikeouts and 10 walks in 40 innings pitched, he has been just as good, lowering his ERA to 2.04 and he is now 7-1 on the season and along with the Yankees there are a number of teams that will be targeting him in the summer. Buehrle is a strong pitcher that has gone over 10 years without getting hurt and putting in 200 innings per season and there are a ton of teams looking to make the playoffs that would love that production. While Buehrle will be making nearly $20 million in this season and next season, it could be worth it for a team with the money to spend like the Yankees.
Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion could be on the move since the Jays are likely going to be in rebuilding mode soon and making those moves could net some great prospects. Encarnacion showed off his power last season and Bautista has been killing it, getting on base in nearly every game and he is now leading the Jays in home runs, scoring, runs, RBIs and on base plus slugging percentage. Bautista would be a huge snag for teams needing outfield help and he could be a big factor in the playoffs this year if he gets traded.
