The Toronto Blue Jays’ odds of winning the World Series have shifted dramatically after acquiring Matt Chapman and signing starter Yusei Kikuchi.
During the lockout, the odds for the Blue Jays winning the 2022 World Series were from +1100 to +1300 at sports betting sites. But since acquiring the former Oakland Athletics third basemen, their odds have been slashed to as low as +850.
Although Chapman joins the squad coming off the worst offensive season of his career, the once first round-pick has had some excellent results in the past with MVP votes in 2018 and 2019. He also retained a three-straight season OPS of over .800. The Blue Jays are looking to improve their infield and think that the 28-year-old will help solve that piece of the puzzle.
Recent Trades Completed
In the past week, we have witnessed many deals sent to the biggest teams in MLB. We have seen Chris Bassitt go to the Mets, a trio of Gary Sanchez, Sonny Gray, and Gio Urshela sent to the Twins, Josh Donaldson and Isiah Kiner-Falefta make their way to the Yankees lineup, Jess Winker alongside Eugenio Suarez made their path to the Mariners and finally, Matt Olson has taken an eight-year contract with the Braves.
But the madness doesn’t seem over, and we could see even more trades before the spring training season. We look at some more moves that could happen in the next few weeks.
Jose Ramirez
Rumors are that the Blue Jays have discussed acquiring Jose from the Guardians. Ramirez has just two years left on his contract with his current team, equating to $25 million, which is well within the realms of possibilities for the Guardians.
Ramirez has been in the top six of the MVP voting four times in the past five years and has hit 36 home runs in 2021. As padded out as the Toronto lineup is, another switch hitter in the squad to sit alongside all their right-hitters makes a lot of sense.
The only possible issue in making this a reality is that the Jays would need to include some of their top prospects, such as Gabriel Moreno or Orelvis Martinez (once 12th and 18th picks), in the trade.
With Matt Chapman signing to the Blue Jays, the Rays could go for the deal with Ramirez without having to touch their top five prospects, so there’s still a lot of scope for this deal to happen.
Frankie Montas/Sean Manaea
Manaea and Montas are both solid mid-rotation starters with durability that most teams lack in this area of their squad. Manaea pitched a total of 179⅓ innings last season, and Montas bested that with 187.
Montas had better results and can throw a 96-mph fastball alongside a splitter and slider for his strikeout arsenal. Manaea is a lefty with a low 90 mph sinker, curveball, and changeup in his locker. He has a much-improved strikeout record of over 25% and is in line for another solid season of pitches.
After adding Gray, the obvious choice for this trade is the Twins, but they are still searching for another starter. Many AL West rivals could use the rotation help, but intradivision deals are rare.
Austin Meadows
Before the lockout ended, it was reported that the Rays were open to moving Austin. American sportswriter Ken Rosenthal tweeted about this in the week. With the Phillies acquiring Kyle Schwarber, the outfield market is beginning to move slightly.
The Rays currently have Meadows until the end of the 2024 season and would want $4.9MM for him this season coming. This makes Meadows affordable for plenty of teams in the league, including the A’s, Padres, and the Dodgers.
Anyone who missed out on the once free-agent Schwarber will be interested in Austin Meadows’ talents. The 26-year-old managed to swat 33 home runs for Tampa Bay and 27 long balls in the season before last. While 2020 wasn’t the best for his stats, he still averages at a respectable .256/.334/.493.
Tyler Glasnow
Another player suspected to move from the Rays is Glasnow. The 28-year-old pitcher is a bit of a risk, as he is still recovering from Tommy John Surgery (formally known as ulnar collateral ligament or UCL). As a result, he might not even see the field in 2022 – so will the Rays want to fork out the $5.5 million for him to possibly not pitch one ball?
The Rays are known for their efficiency when it comes to spending money. They like to invest in grassroots players and look to buy veterans for good one-year deals. So we can’t see them holding on to Glasnow to get some play out of him in the 2023 season.
But who will take him? In January, we saw the Mariners make a trade proposal for him, so there is some interest. But it will just take a team willing to take a risk for a potentially big reward.
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Based in California, James William writes about golf, tennis, UFC and the (sometimes complicated) world of betting on sports. A big lover of live poker, James also takes care of casino reviews for Vegas-Odds.com.
