{"id":756753,"date":"2026-07-20T12:45:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T12:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/756753\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T12:45:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T12:45:20","slug":"blue-jays-trade-deadline-plans-could-cost-1-fan-favorite-his-playing-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/756753\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Jays&#8217; Trade Deadline Plans Could Cost 1 Fan Favorite His Playing Time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"70\">Looking across the roster of the Toronto Blue Jays there is not one single player who is really deserving of losing his roster spot. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"73\">Even though the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/blue-jays-open-second-half-with-chance-rewrite-offensive-narrative\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">team hasn\u2019t performed<\/a> that well this year, there have been several factors contributing to that.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"76\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/blue-jays-may-have-difficult-decision-versatile-veteran\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">trade deadline is going to be interesting <\/a>for the Blue Jays who now sit at 46-53. This is not where anyone expected this team to be.  They are 10.5 games behind the first-place Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East, and 4.5 games back of a Wild Card spot.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"79\">Now, the Blue Jays face their most important stretch of the year. Whether general manager Ross Atkins starts adding pieces for next year, moves veteran pieces for more future assets, or finds some sort of middle ground has yet to be decided. Regardless, every single roster decision from here on out carries significant weight for the organization.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-4\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7c\">That\u2019s where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/blue-jays-davis-schneider-flips-script-struggling-season-since-recall\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Davis Schneider\u2019s story<\/a> may change. The versatile player may be fighting for playing time.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7f\">The 26-year-old has become popular among Blue Jays fans because of his memorable 2023 debut, but that memory isn\u2019t going to be enough to keep him on a crowded roster when players start to return from the injured list.<\/p>\n<p>Schneider\u2019s Offensive Production is Lacking<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01kxyh92gf5mnvxrt8b7.jpg\" alt=\"Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Davis Schneider\" title=\"Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Davis Schneider\" width=\"360\" height=\"240\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"7s\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Davis Schneider | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7w\">When Schneider comes to the plate, it is anyone\u2019s guess what is going to happen. His consistency has been nonexistent this year. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7z\">He\u2019s slashing a disheartening .153\/.282\/.296 with a .578 OPS. He has struck out 39 times in 98 at-bats. He has hit three home runs this season, but those have not made up for the severe lack in offensive production on a daily basis. <\/p>\n<p>Toronto Has Plenty of Players Earning At-Bats<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"85\">While the record is disappointing for the team overall, the Blue Jays have had contributors across the lineup.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"88\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/okamoto-hot-streak-has-him-on-brink-of-rookie-history\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kazuma Okamoto <\/a>has anchored the offense so far this year with 22 home runs and 62 RBIs. Ernie Clement is batting .295. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. still hasn\u2019t found his power, but he has picked up a bit since the beginning of the season. Nathan Lukes has hit .286 and produced some steady outfield play.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8b\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/why-yohendrick-pinango-must-stay-blue-jays-addison-barger-returns\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Yohendrick Pinango<\/a> has taken full advantage of the opportunities presented to him this year. He is batting .267 with a .726 OPS. Jesus Sanchez was hitting .274 with a .753 OPS before landing on the IL with a sprained ankle.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8e\">At-bats are getting increasingly harder to find within the Blue Jays with Daulton Varsho, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/bluejays\/onsi\/george-springer-return-outfield-raises-bigger-questions-for-blue-jays\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">George Springer<\/a> and Andres Gimenez playing regular roles.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8h\">If Sanchez can come off the IL and Toronto makes another move before the trade deadline, Schneider could be the odd man out. It is very possible that his role shrinks in a hurry.<\/p>\n<p>Deadline Could Create Roster Crunch<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01kxyhd7cw0mg3c7tfe0.jpg\" alt=\"Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Davis Schneider \" title=\"Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Davis Schneider \" width=\"360\" height=\"360\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"8u\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Davis Schneider  | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-18\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8y\">Toronto\u2019s position in the standings could make the upcoming deadline interesting.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-19\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"91\">Given their recent history and the injury statuses, it isn\u2019t plausible that they start a complete rebuild. But they are also far enough out that a division race isn\u2019t really in the conversation.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-20\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"94\">If Atkins chooses to add more talent or give opportunities to emerging players, someone on the roster is going to lose playing time.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-21\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"97\">Schneider does have a solid argument in that he is a versatile player, but his overall performance right now doesn\u2019t warrant a continuous spot or increased playing opportunities.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-22\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"9a\">As the deadline is quickly approaching, the Blue Jays are going to have some hard decisions ahead. Based on the season\u2019s first 99 games, Schneider is the player with the biggest target on his back.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\">Follow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Looking across the roster of the Toronto Blue Jays there is not one single player who is really&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":756754,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2378],"tags":[5,377,2554,4,282,70,2553],"class_list":["post-756753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto-blue-jays","tag-baseball","tag-blue-jays","tag-bluejays","tag-mlb","tag-toronto","tag-toronto-blue-jays","tag-torontobluejays"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116952375263011291","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=756753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/756754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=756753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=756753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=756753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}