The Blue Jays enter the summer as one of the most fascinating teams to monitor ahead of next months trade deadline. Sitting with a disappointing 29-32 record that has them in the AL East cellar, Toronto could upend the trade market if names like , , , , and others eventually are made available to contending teams. Theyve not yet reached the point where thats under consideration, however. GM Ro s Atkins recently went on record to quash such rumblings, stating that it doesnt make any sense for the Jays to consider moving Bichette and/or Guerrero. Theres some logic behind that sentiment, to be sure. The Jays may be buried with a 14-game deficit in the division, but theyre also only four games back of the third AL Wild Card spot at the moment. Thats despite the fact that key bats like Bichette, Guerrero, and offseason signee have underperformed. (Turner had a blistering April but fell into perhaps the worst slump of his career in May.) It hasnt manifested yet, but the talent is certainly there for the Jays offense to go on a run and surge back into the playoff picture. Any fans hoping for a proactive trade to boost the offense or an early waving of the white flag appear to be in for a letdown, however. that the Jays arent planning to make any firm calls on their deadline approach until after the All-Star break. Some could read that as an indication that if the Jays standing in the Wild Card race dramatically falls off Jonathan Cuevas Jersey , perhaps theyll reconsider moving Bichette and/or Guerrero. While there are few absolutes in the game the Nationals famously traded le s than two months after GM Mike Rizzo publicly proclaimed he would not do so, for instance the overwhelming majority of instances where an executive goes on record to publicly downplay such a po sibility tend to play out just as the GM or president in question indicates. That said, with Jansen, Kikuchi, Ba sitt, , , and others all signed/controlled only through this season or next, the Jays would still have plenty of attractive trade chips if they do end up as sellers. That All-Star break target for a final call gives the current roster about six weeks to right the ship and prove that there is indeed a playoff-caliber club here as was the general expectation heading into the season. The Jays are already getting creative in ways to change up their defensive alignment in an effort to get more bats in the lineup, giving Guerrero some starts at third base for the first time since 2019. Its not an everyday arrangement, but manager John Schneider has suggested Guerrero could play there every five or six games or so, giving Toronto an avenue to have Guerrero and Justin Turner at the corners with both Jansen and in the lineup (one at DH, the other at catcher). Some may wonder why the Jays dont simply play Turner at third base with more regularity, given that its been his primary position in an excellent big league career. But the 39-year-old Turner has made 11 starts at the hot corner between Boston and Toronto over the past two seasons and committed a glaring five errors in that time. While Guerrero isnt going to provide plus defense himself, it seems the Jays prefer him to Turner from a defensive standpoint. Turner hasnt played third base for the Jays since May 7. Moving Guerrero to third base on occasion isnt the only defensive shuffle that could be on the horizon, though. that Toronto has begun getting first baseman reps at second base down in Triple-A and could soon look to him as a second base option at the big league level. Horwitz has now made 11 starts and tallied 87 innings at the position. Its not an overwhelming amount of experience, but with Horwitz boasting an outrageous .332/.455/.510 slash in 255 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, the Jays are understandably seeking more ways to get him into the lineup. The added flexibility will give Schneider some more ways to creatively construct his lineup. The ostensibly looming promotion of Horwitz will require Toronto to jettison one position player from the roster, and Toronto has a number of underperforming options to consider. has been limited to DH against right-handed pitching and managed only a .203/.282/.328 slash on the season. The aforementioned Kiermaier is hitting only .202/.254/.303, though he remains an elite outfield defender. s .200/.323/.293 marks his fourth straight year of middling results at the dish. However the Jays choose to proceed, getting Horwitz onto the big league roster in the near future seems prudent, particularly with Guerrero and Bichette beginning to turn things around at the plate. Guerrero entered todays game hitting .356/.433/.477 over his past 150 plate appearances and has already launched a three-run homer. Bichettes slow start lasted longer, but he entered play Thursday with a .303/.324/.470 batting line over his past 16 games (68 plate appearances). Richie Palacios Jersey