The Toronto Blue Jays are 42-37 and in third place in the AL East. They are currently in the second wild-card position. Obviously, nothing is certain right now about playing in October, as there are 12 teams within 4.5 games of a playoff spot in the American League. We are just about at the halfway point of the season (79 games), so it’s time to start thinking about the trade deadline for contenders.

One of the challenges this year is that there are so many teams with a chance that there will be a lot of demand for a small supply of trade candidates. Of course, the races will be further defined as we get closer to July 31. There will likely be teams with similar records making different decisions about their postseason chances. It all depends upon where they are in their franchise history and how many controllable players they have versus free agents at the end of the season.

The Blue Jays will likely be buyers at the deadline and they will clearly have to address some needs to beat out the other teams in the playoff hunt.

The Jays will need to add a starting pitcher or two. The fourth and fifth starter spots in the rotation have been dicey to say the least. Bowden Francis has struggled and can’t keep the ball in the ballpark. Max Scherzer came back Wednesday night after a long stint on the injured list, but the jury is still out on what he will be moving forward.

Scherzer’s start on Wednesday in Cleveland was a split-decision. His fastball velocity was mostly 93-94mph, although his velocity dropped a bit in the fifth inning. His slider/cutter was about 86 mph. His curveball was 75-76 mph, and his changeup was 84-86 mph. There was more than enough velocity in his performance. He was a bit inconsistent with his command, although it was to be expected........

© TSN