Blue Jays bet on a reclamation project days before the deadline

The Blue Jays made their first real deadline-week move on Sunday, landing right-hander Jameson Taillon and cash considerations from the Cubs for a player to be named later or cash of their own. It's about as low-risk as trades get. Chicago designated Taillon for assignment on July 27, and instead of letting him hit outright waivers, they found a taker willing to absorb what's left of his deal.

Mark Feinsand

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The Blue Jays have acquired Jameson Taillon and cash considerations from the Cubs for a PTBNL or cash considerations. Taillon had been DFA'd by the Cubs earlier this week.

Taillon was in the final season of the 4-year, $68 million contract he signed before 2023, and he's still owed roughly $5.67 million the rest of the way, with the Cubs kicking in money to help cover it. That's the real story here: this isn't Toronto betting on upside so much as scooping up affordable innings while Chicago pays down the tab.

The 34-year-old had a rough go of it in Chicago this year, posting a 5.92 ERA over 15 starts with 25 homers allowed, a career-worst home run rate that finally got him cut loose. It's a steep fall from the pitcher who ran a 3.93 ERA across his first 3 seasons with the Cubs. But he was still logging around 5 innings a start even during the bad stretch, and his xFIP sits closer to 4.80 than his ugly ERA suggests, which is presumably why Toronto saw enough to bring him aboard.

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Blue Jays Acquire Jameson Taillon t.co/cyKtD8al7N

For the Blue Jays, this reads less like a splash and more like setup. Reports out of the deadline suggest Toronto could be gearing up to move rotation pieces like Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, or even Max Scherzer, and a banged-up starting five needs bodies to soak up innings regardless of who else goes out the door. Taillon, for the price of essentially nothing, is exactly that kind of depth add.

Whether he's a rotation stabilizer or just a name to plug a hole for a couple months depends on which version of Taillon shows up north of the border. Toronto isn't paying for the guy who gave up homers at a career-worst clip in Chicago. They're betting the underlying numbers, and a change of scenery, get him closer to the pitcher he was for most of his Cubs tenure.