Why Blue Jays, Aroldis Chapman are perfect trade deadline fit originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Toronto Blue Jays came so close to a World Series title last season, but the bullpen couldn’t quite get the job done.
This season’s Blue Jays haven’t hit their full stride yet, but the relief pitching has still left something to be desired.
Yes, Louis Varland has been awesome, but he’d be ideal to use in a more flexible role rather than as a stringent closer.
Jeff Hoffman still has good stuff, but it’s hard to know whether he’ll be a trustworthy closer again.
There’s also been plenty of shuffling up and down from Triple-A Buffalo to try and find the right answers in the bullpen.
If the Blue Jays believe themselves to be buyers at the deadline, it might be time to think about Boston Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman.
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Could the Blue Jays trade for Aroldis Chapman?
ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel listed the Blue Jays as a possible destination for Chapman as part of a new article on Monday.
There are a ton of teams that might want Chapman, but the Blue Jays are near the top of the list of teams that would benefit the most.
They’d also give themselves a chance at erasing some of those demons that popped up during the 2025 postseason.
“Relief pitchers often are some of the most impactful deadline acquisitions, and Boston’s closer is as effective as ever,” Passan and McDaniel write. “Chapman doesn’t throw as hard as he once did, but he has four distinct pitches now. And he’s still chucking his fastball in the high 90s, which is plenty of velocity when hitters need to gear up for his slider and splitter. Here’s the greatest truism of the deadline: Everyone needs a good reliever. Teams will climb over each other for Chapman.”
It wouldn’t be easy for the Blue Jays to pull this off, but the need is great enough that they should definitely try.
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