Well as the deadline comes down to the wire (July 31) it appears trade talks involving the Blue Jays are cooling on almost all reported players linked to the team at one point. Here are a few updates:
-Peter Gammons of MLB Network reported today that the Athletics have backed off their pursuit of Drew and Yunel Escobar for now, (Twitter link).
Oakland is reluctant to match Toronto’s asking price on Escobar, according to Rosenthal. Drew and Escobar are Oakland’s top two choices for a shortstop upgrade, Jon Heyman reported today.
Quick Take: Good, I would hope the price for a decent shortsop signed to a team friendly deal coming off of a 4+ win season would be relatively high. You would have to think the Blue Jays would love to poach a starting pitcher they could plug directly into their rotation as well as a prospect (at any position) to move Yunel.
-The Blue Jays are unlikely to complete a trade for Marlins right-hander Josh Johnson, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). The Marlins expect to keep Johnson instead of trading him.
Quick Take: This deal seemed like a long shot when hearing the reported asking price from the Marlins. If they were hoping to land a guy like Jurickson Profar from the Texas Rangers (possibly the best prospect in all of baseball) they are likely starting at Travis dArnaud + at least one of our top pitching prospects (Aaron Sanchez or Derek Norris) plus more, but that is pure speculation.
-The Yankees haven’t contacted the Rockies about Rafael Betancourt, and it’s doubtful the Rockies will trade him at all, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports (on Twitter). The Orioles, Athletics, Rangers,Braves, Red Sox and Blue Jays have all been linked to Betancourt.
