Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons mentioned last month he’d like to see the team add some more balance to the lineup in the form of left-handed bats.
The team could go the route of free agency and potentially target players like Josh Reddick, Brandon Moss, switch-hitter Dexter Fowler or even (gasp) Colby Rasmus as Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi recently suggested. However, if they chose to venture into the trade market, MLB insider Jon Paul Morosi believes the Blue Jays might be interested in the likes of outfielders Charlie Blackmon, Ender Inciarte or Adam Eaton.
The cost of acquiring one of those players might mean giving up a fan favourite.
“If the Jays look at it and candidly decide centre field is where they can add a lefty bat then you have to consider trading Kevin Pillar,” Morosi told Dean Blundell & Co. on Sportsnet 590 The Fan Wednesday. “I think that is a situation you have to give very, very serious thought to.”
Pillar hit .266/.303/.376 in 146 games and was named a finalist for the AL Gold Glove in centre field for a second consecutive season. The popular 27-year-old, known for his acrobatic catches, underwent surgery last week to repair a thumb ligament he tore in August.
“It’s a two-step process. You’re not going to trade Pillar for the sake of trading Pillar but if you look at it and the spot where you can find a leadoff man, which they need, add a bona fide leadoff man, a bona fide lefty bat, if that place is centre field then you have to give serious thought to trading Kevin Pillar,” Morosi said.
Blackmon set a franchise record with the Rockies in 2016 for most leadoff home runs in a season, while Atlanta’s Inciarte and Eaton of the White Sox were named finalists for Gold Glove awards in centre field and right field, respectively.
The Blue Jays could lose both Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion to free agency this winter, and Morosi suggested the Toronto lineup could undergo even more changes.
“Aside from [Josh Donaldson], [Russell Martin] and [Troy Tulowitzki], I think the rest of the lineup is very, very much in flux so I would say anyone with the exception of those three guys is a potential trade,” he said.
