The Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers will play World Series Game Three tonight. It wouldn’t have been possible for Toronto to reach their first Fall Classic since 1993 without the trades they made back in July to get them ready for their fateful postseason run.
The Blue Jays added four players at the trade deadline, with a specific emphasis on bolstering their pitching staff. Even though none of those players have played at an elite level, they’ve added valuable depth and filled key roles through the end of the regular season and into October.
Dealing for starting pitcher Shane Bieber was a lot riskier than it would be for a typical 30-year-old former Cy Young Award winner. After being named the American League’s best pitcher with Cleveland in 2020, his velocity and strikeouts fell off precipitously, and injuries derailed his career. He made only two appearances in 2024—March 28 and April 2—and hadn’t returned to MLB since then.
Toronto took a chance on him as he was rehabbing in the minors, sending 2024 second-round pick Khal Stephen to the Guardians. Bieber made his Blue Jays debut three weeks later, and compiled a 3.57 ERA and 1.02 WHIP over seven starts down the stretch. His three postseason starts have been a mixed bag, but he’s scheduled to take the ball tomorrow night in World Series Game Four.
Seranthony Domínguez became Toronto’s setup man after they dealt for the veteran reliever from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Double-A right-hander Juaron Watts-Brown. Domínguez fits their team philosophy of featuring splitters, and he posted a 3.00 ERA in 24 appearances and 21 innings for the Blue Jays while striking out 25 opposing hitters.
Domínguez has been stingy with allowing hits in the postseason, giving up only three of them in eight innings of work. However, one of them was a grand slam to Eugenio Suárez, and he has issued five walks and hit a batter. He retired all four batters he faced in World Series Game One and picked up the win in relief.
The Blue Jays added two players in a deadline deal with the Minnesota Twins, picking up reliever Louis Varland and first baseman Ty France for left fielder Alan Roden and minor-league lefty Kendry Rojas.
Varland immediately became the hardest thrower on the Blue Jays, routinely touching triple digits with his fastball, which he pairs with a knuckle curve. Those pitches earned him a 2.02 ERA in Minnesota, but he struggled in Toronto, leading to a 4.94 ERA over 23 2/3 innings.
Manager John Schneider hasn’t been shy about calling his name in October, and he has made 11 appearances in the playoffs with six runs, 10 hits, and two walks allowed over 11 2/3 innings. Even though he hasn’t been as good as expected, he’s evidently better than Toronto’s other choices for his setup role.
France hasn’t been as consequential of an addition. The Blue Jays have one of the best first basemen in the game in Vladimir Guerrero Jr., so he has mostly been used as a platoon designated hitter against left-handed pitching. He picked up an oblique injury at the end of the regular season, and wasn’t included on the postseason roster until the World Series commenced. He hasn’t gotten into a playoff game yet, but is available off the bench.