The deadline has come and gone, and they had an interesting trade deadline.
Overall, the Toronto Blue Jays made four trades, acquiring four 26-man roster players, a prospect, and subtracting a 26-man roster player. The big question is, are the Blue Jays better than they were last week? Probably.
Let’s grade the four trades the Blue Jays made ahead of the 2025 trade deadline.
Juaron Watts-Brown for Seranthony Domínguez
A few days before the deadline, the Blue Jays acquired their first piece of the puzzle, trading their tenth-best prospect, Juaron Watts-Brown, to the Orioles for Seranthony Domínguez.
Traded between a doubleheader against the Orioles, Domínguez had a short walk to the Blue Jays dressing room. He then proceeded to strike out two of his former teammates. The following day, he struck out two more Orioles while hitting a batter, picking up his first hold as a Blue Jay.
Acquiring Domínguez gives the Jays a high-leverage reliever, but what about Watts-Brown? This season between High-A and Double-A, Brown has a 3.54 ERA and 3.10 FIP in 89 innings pitched, with a 30.5 K% and 10.1 BB%. His 115 strikeouts rank eighth in the minor leagues.
Because Domínguez is a rental, this trade isn’t perfect. That said, they got him before the prices went up on relievers, meaning they get a solid A on this trade.
Khal Stephen for Shane Bieber
On Thursday morning, the Blue Jays made a gigantic splash, trading their fifth-best prospect, Khal Stephen, for Shane Bieber.
Of any trade that Ross Atkins has made at the helm of the Blue Jays, this is by far the biggest risk he’s taken, as Bieber is currently on rehab for Tommy John surgery he got last season. When he’s at his best, like he was in 2021 before injuries, Bieber had a 3.17 ERA and 3.03 FIP in 200 innings pitched, with a 33.1 K% and an 8.1 BB%.
The year before that, Bieber was named the American League Cy Young Award winner during the pandemic-affected 2020 season. This undoubtedly is a high-risk/high-reward type of deal, as Bieber has an opt-out clause after this season.
What could make this trade bad in hindsight is that Stephen is a legitimate pitching prospect. Between Single-A, High-A, and Double-A, the 22-year-old has posted a 2.06 ERA and 2.66 FIP in 91.2 innings pitched, with a 27.9 K% and 5.1 BB%.
This grade is a tough one to grade, as there’s a large variance between it going good (winning the World Series or Bieber returns to pitching like an ace and re-signs), or very bad (Bieber struggles after Tommy John, doesn’t re-sign, and Stephen becomes a bona fide big leaguer).
Still, this is a trade the Blue Jays needed to make, as Atkins hasn’t made this kind of deal before. Let’s grade it at a B for now, but this could end up being an F or A+.
Will Wagner for Brandon Valenzuela
The smallest trade of the day saw the Blue Jays move Will Wagner to the San Diego Padres for catching prospect Brandon Valenzuela.
This move freed up a 26-man and 40-man roster spot for the Jays while giving them a much-needed catching prospect in the upper-minors. Valenzuela has “future backup catcher” written all over him, as he’s a plus defender with a light arm.
Wagner had been playing well since his latest call-up, but this could be a classic case of Atkins selling high on a prospect before the value drops. We’ll see what happens in the future.
As for the trade itself, it’s okay at best, and I give it a B- for now.
Kendry Rojas and Alan Roden for Louis Varland and Ty France
Announced shortly after the 6:00 PM deadline, the Blue Jays sent Kendry Rojas and Alan Roden to the Minnesota Twins for Louis Varland and Ty France.
Starting with the prospects, I’ve always been incredibly high on Rojas, dating back to his debut season in 2021. The stuff is nasty, and he’ll pitch in the big leagues at some point in his career. That said, the Jays have a surplus of pitchers in their top 10, which includes Trey Yesavage, Ricky Tiedemann, Johnny King, and Gage Stanifer.
Like Wagner, Roden is a type of player who doesn’t really have a place on a contending Blue Jays team, as there is a massive logjam of outfielders at the big league level. He struggled in the big leagues but has been excellent in Triple-A. Roden needs consistent playing time, and the Twins will offer him that.
Varland, without a doubt, is the big piece coming to the Jays. The right-handed reliever has a 2.02 ERA and 2.89 FIP in 49 innings pitched, with a 23.9 K% and 6.6 BB%. Varland’s fastball sits a tick above 98 mph, paired with a devastating knuckle curveball. More importantly, Varland is under team control until after the 2030 season, hence the cost.
As for France, what will knock the grade down a bit is the fact that they should’ve gotten a better right-handed batter. France is a good defender at first base, something the Jays needed for their backup first baseman. He’s had an impressive season before, namely in 2021 and 2022, but he’s been below-average this season and has actually hit lefties worse than he has righties.
The trade itself is automatically an A- because of Varland’s team control and ability to pitch in high-leverage situations. It probably would’ve been an “A” had they traded for a player who can hit like Willi Castro instead of France, but they at least got a defensively sound backup first baseman.
The overall grade
Ignoring the moves that the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays made, the Blue Jays’ trade deadline wasn’t bad. In fact, I’d describe it as good, giving it a B+.
I would’ve loved it if the Jays threw caution to the wind and went all-in like they had in 2015, but they filled every hole they had. Their bullpen has two more high-leverage relievers, they can push Lauer back to the bullpen as a longman when Bieber is ready, and they traded for a right-handed bench bat, albeit the Jays could’ve done a bit better in this area. And hey, they probably have their backup catcher of the future.
It’s a risky trade deadline, but the reward can be great. We’ll see how August plays out for the Jays.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.