JTP: Trade Deadline Expectations with Ben Nicholson-Smith
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What are the hosts’ initial thoughts on the Shane Bieber trade and its impact on the Blue Jays’ rotation?
Welcome back to Jays Talk Plus. Blake Murphy and Julia Kreutz with you. The Toronto Blue Jays have added Sarah Anthony Dominguez and Shane Bieber so far. Deadline seven hours away. So if you are tweeting me with things like, that's it, just hold your horses.
Well, we don't know. It could be, but it could not be.
Text and tweet that to Blair and Barker. They're in the four to seven slot. They're in the prime deadline slot.
Also, one second. If you're texting Blake after the Blue Jays just acquired Shane Bieber, To say that's it, I mean, nothing will ever please
you. Also, I'm not going to call this person out by name, but it was a funny sequence where I had one tweet from them in my mentions about how they've only done Sir Anthony Dominguez, like this is pathetic, et cetera. And then like 15 minutes later, one complaining about Shane Bieber also. The lesson there is the deadline's at 6 o'clock. We will contextualize all of it at 6 o'clock and on the show tomorrow. We're reacting on the fly here. Shane Bieber, fun. Sarah Anthony Dominguez, fun. No one is saying that's the end of the day. I hope it's not, especially because we have three more hours to do. but also because they're in a position where they should be very, very aggressive and continue to be aggressive from here.
Speaking of aggressive, our next guest thought the Cal Stephen Price was maybe a little aggressive for six weeks of Shane Bieber, unless there's a future, you know, a little handshake about the option and things like that. John Becker of Fangraphs and his fresh haircut. Join us now. John, what's up, man? How you doing?
Doing great. One of the best days of the year. So happy to be sharing a few minutes of it with you guys.
And here's something for you. Oh, no. According to Jeff Passan of ESPN, sorry to break news to you, Mason Miller is a San Diego Padre,
as is
JP Sears. We don't know the return yet. We had heard that the Blue Jays were at least a little bit in on Mason Miller, but Mason Miller to the Padres. AJ Preller finally putting a flag out there. John, I mean, we don't know the return, but snap reaction to Mason Miller finally getting dealt.
I guess Padres starters are only going to have to go like four innings now. Yeah. Assuming they keep Miller in the bullpen for now. I know that part of the reporting that I saw on the athletic this morning was maybe he's a guy that they would want to stretch out in the future. But yeah, I mean, I guess never doubt colors ability to swing a massive trade that no one's quite expecting until maybe 24 hours before it happens.
Yeah.
What a bullpen now. Robert Suarez, Jason Adam, Adrian Marjon, Jeremiah Estrada, and now Mason Miller. We'll see what the return is. So maybe we'll circle back to that one with you, John. Let's go to the one we do know the return for. The Toronto Blue Jays have acquired Shane Bieber from the Guardians. Bieber at AA on his rehab has worked up to four innings and 57 pitches. as of earlier this week. The cost of that is Cal Stephen, who you guys at Fangraphs had ranked as the number 80 prospect in baseball in the pre-deadline midseason top 100. What's your initial reaction to Bieber as a Blue Jay, A, and B, the price that the Blue Jays paid to get that done?
Yeah, I think Bieber is certainly a great gap in terms of upside. I think he's got the potential to be their best starter the rest of the year, depending on what his velocity looks like and how sharp he looks whenever he does come back off the aisle rehabbing from Tommy John. But yeah, Yeah, Cal Stephen, certainly a lot to give up. There's a real chance that he is something like the second or third best prospect moved at this deadline. And it's for a guy in Shane Bieber who is, if he's healthy as a rental and if he's not healthy and he's not a rental, well, then it's kind of a problem that the Blue Jays give up. health even for him. But, you know, strong division, good Blue Jays team that has, I would say, overperformed expectations, maybe hoping to get a guy who can sort of help them.
If some of these guys regress a little bit, especially on the offensive side, then they have a guy that can really limit runs on the mound and has done so his entire career, whether his velocity is at 90 or 95, he just gets guys out.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What are the hosts’ initial thoughts on the Shane Bieber trade and its impact on the Blue Jays’ rotation?
0:11–7:03
2
How do the hosts evaluate the cost of the Bieber trade – is Cal Stephen worth the prospect return?
7:03–15:04
3
What is the assessment of the Seranthony Domínguez acquisition and its role in the bullpen?
15:04–20:28
4
Which relievers are still on the market and could the Jays realistically add before the 6 PM deadline?
20:28–26:54
5
How do the hosts weigh the trade‑off between adding another reliever versus a position‑player bat?
26:54–33:36
6
Which position‑player targets (e.g., Harrison Bader, Willie Castro, Ramon Laureano) are realistic for Toronto at the deadline?
33:36–40:04
7
What insights does Ben Nicholson‑Smith provide about the Blue Jays’ overall trade strategy and clubhouse vibe?
40:04–44:49
8
How do the hosts view the trade‑deadline timeline, stress factors, and what to expect after the 6 PM cutoff?
44:49–50:47
Speakers
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