Even the least seasoned baseball observer could sense something was brewing when Justin Turner was removed from the Blue Jays lineup in the second inning of the first game of a doubleheader in Baltimore on Monday.
A veteran who was acquired by the Blue Jays this past off-season in free agency, Turner’s name had been mentioned quite prominently in the days leading up to Tuesday’s 6 p.m. MLB trade deadline.
When several of the industry’s most connected insiders began to circulate the news of Turner’s trade to the Seattle Mariners, the writing was on the wall, and the trade soon was confirmed.
Coming to the Blue Jays organization is double-A outfielder RJ Schreck, Seattle’s No. 29 prospect as ranked by MLB Pipeline.
So far, Toronto has orchestrated four trades in four days that have resulted in eight prospects coming to the Jays’ thin farm system.
The hope is that a potential trade involving Yusei Kikuchi may entice a bigger return, but the clock is ticking.
The lefty starter knows he’s going to get traded. What he doesn’t know is when and to what team.
The Mariners and Blue Jays are often trading partners, including when pitcher Yimi Garcia was shipped out to Seattle on Friday in return for prospects. Like Turner, Garcia is a pending free agent .
Turner’s experienced bat should come in handy for a Mariners team in support of offence.
There has been much speculation of late involving a franchise-altering trade involving Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with the M’s said to be keen suitors.
In his final act as a Blue Jay, Turner made a great diving play at first base in the bottom of the first inning when the O’s emphasized the O in offence by chasing Jays starter Yariel Rodriguez from the game after the righty recorded only two outs.
The book on Turner’s time in Toronto will be a short read.
He was brought in to provide veteran leadership, but his bat would have been much more welcome.
Once the Jays’ pursuit of Shohei Ohtani went up in smoke, a futile chase that was foolish at the time, the Jays were left scrambling.
Some kind of middle of the order presence was needed, and the club decided to sign Turner.
Turner served as DH, could play first base, was well liked by his teammates in Toronto, and extracted all that he had, which, to be blunt, wasn’t much.
There were stretches when Turner would turn on pitches or send balls the opposite way.
In the final analysis, his time in Toronto was pretty underwhelming, which doesn’t make Turner unique on an underperforming team.
In Seattle, he at least will play in meaningful games.
In the wake of Turner’s trade, three pending free agents remain in Kikuchi, Trevor Richards and Kevin Kiermaier.
Richards was horrible in his most recent appearances out of the bullpen.
Kiermaier, who already has announced he plans to retire following this season, was put on waivers by the Jays prior to the all-star break. He suffered a hip contusion Sunday when he crashed into the padded wall in right-centre.