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Blue Jays: Trade Deadline Dreamin’ with the National League Central

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It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster in the NL Central this season.

At one point, sitting as high as second in the division, St. Louis appeared to be legitimate contenders. On the contrary, the Brewers spent all of May occupying third and fourth in the division, and it looked like they might become sellers at the deadline.

Since then, those two teams have switched trajectories, and in Milwaukee’s case, they’ve worked their way into the division lead. It seems like it will be a race between them and the Cubs for the division title, with Chicago looking to be aggressive in the pitching market, mostly. Let’s not forget about Cincinnati either; at 53-50 and 2.5 games out of a Wild Card spot, the Reds are in a position to buy, and they were recently linked to a potential reunion with former third baseman Eugenio Suárez.

That leaves us with the Cardinals and Pirates, which will occupy a significant portion of this article. Here are a few names from the NL Central that the Blue Jays could seek out via trade within the coming days.

Ryan Helsley – Cardinals

Naturally, we’ll start with the Cardinals, and naturally, we’ll start with Ryan Helsley. Why do I phrase it like that? Well, Helsley has been sitting on the trade block for some time now, but with the Cardinals teetering around .500 and the always-existing demand for high-leverage bullpen arms, now is the time for St. Louis to move their hard-throwing closer.

Helsley has pitched in 34 games this season, posting a 3.18 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 9.8 K/9, and 19 saves. This season has featured a lot more traffic on the base paths than what he’s exhibited in recent seasons. He’s already allowed more home runs this season than he did last year in nearly half as many games, and his H/9 is up from 6.8 last year to 9.0 this year.

Still, Helsley possesses a 99 mph fastball that pairs well with a slider that generates a 45% whiff rate in his closer role. He’s slated to enter free agency after this season, making him an ideal rental for any team needing bullpen arms. The Cardinals and Blue Jays made a couple of reliever trades back in 2023, and I’d say they’re a good fit to make another one this season.

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David Bednar – Pirates

Similar to Helsley, here’s another late-game reliever that would fit nicely in Toronto’s bullpen.

Just one save away from his 100th career save, Bednar has rebounded in a big way after a rough start to the season. Through his first 18 outings, Bednar had limped to a 5.52 ERA and nine earned runs allowed, but a FIP of only 2.68 left some room for optimism. There’s no doubt that he was able to put any struggles behind him, because Bednar has not allowed an earned run since those first 18 appearances. That time frame has consisted of just 10 hits allowed, five walks, and 26 strikeouts over 20 1/3 innings.

Altogether, Bednar owns a 2.31 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 12.3 K/9, and 15 saves. He’s been successful with his three-pitch mix of his fastball, curveball, and splitter, with the last pitch averaging at 92.3 mph. Bednar’s scoreless outings streak hasn’t been a cheap one either. Looking through his game log, Bednar has been thrown into games against the likes of the Tigers, Cubs, Astros, Padres, Phillies, and Mets – teams the Blue Jays might be facing if they get to October baseball.

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He’s on track to be a free agent after next season, so on top of his dominance on the mound, Bednar will come with a significant price tag. Some reports suggest he could be a part of a package deal with starting pitcher Mitch Keller, but even if a team were to acquire just Bednar, they’d be further fortifying the backend of their bullpen.

Dennis Santana – Pirates

After ending last season on a high note with the Pirates, Santana has continued his high level of success this season. Once a journeyman through his first eight MLB seasons, Santana is now a sought-after commodity for a contender’s bullpen down the stretch.

Through 42 games this season, Santana has posted a 1.49 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, and 7.2 K/9 over 42 1/3 innings. While he doesn’t boast high strikeout numbers, Santana has been effective in limiting hard contact, home runs, and walks. His WHIP, HR/9, and BB/9 would be career-bests if he maintained them at their current rate. He also ranks in the 99th percentile in chase rate, and while that doesn’t correlate with whiffs, it means he’s getting his opponents to offer at pitches out of the zone and putting those in play.

Santana has one more year of arbitration, and he’ll be a free agent following the 2026 season. He doesn’t have the greatest track record, but there’s something effective going on here. Even if it isn’t the Blue Jays, another contender should be taking a shot at acquiring Santana.

Emilio Pagán – Reds

The Reds and Blue Jays don’t appear to be realistic trade partners based on where Cincinnati currently stands, but let’s assume things go awry for them over the next week against the Rays and Dodgers. If they did, Pagán would be a somewhat hilarious trade piece given he suggested last weekend that their success out of the break could “force the organization’s hand to go get some help” for them.

Nonetheless, Pagán is having one of the best seasons of his career, taking over as Cincinnati’s closer. The veteran righty has pitched to a 2.83 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and 11.1 K/9 with a career-best 21 saves through 41 1/3 innings this season. He’s currently on a nice stretch of pitching in which he’s only allowed two earned runs over his last 16 1/3 frames with eight saves.

Pagán mainly sticks with his 95 mph fastball that has generated an opponent’s batting average of .165 and slugging percentage of .363. Outside of that, he features a cutter and splitter, but he only throws those close to 20% of the time each. With a WHIP under 1.00 and a H/9 of 5.4, Pagán is simply keeping his outings as sweat-free as possible.

If the Reds stay in contention, they’d want to keep their closer, who has held this level of success. If any other Reds relievers do become available, though, Scott Barlow (3.63 ERA, 1.23 WHIP) and Taylor Rogers (2.56 ERA, 9.7 K/9) would also be viable options for Toronto’s pen.

Austin Hays – Reds

Tommy Pham of the Pirates would usually be a slam-dunk acquisition in this role, but given the dip in his slugging numbers, I think Hays should be the right-handed bat that Toronto should keep their eye on from this division if the Reds fall out of contention.

A long-time Oriole, Hays is having one of his best seasons, slashing .278/.333/.515 with an .848 OPS, 10 home runs, 40 RBIs, and nine doubles. A free agent after this season, Hays has experience in all three outfield positions, and he’s posted a .347/.418/.714 slash line against lefties this season. The recent performance of Davis Schneider may keep the Blue Jays from needing another right-handed bat that hits lefties well, but this is a guy to keep tabs on if the need presents itself.