The Toronto Blue Jays are in a precarious position right now. Either they can be sellers and deal their top assets at the MLB Trade Deadline at the end of the month, building for the future, or they can be buyers and try to trade for a top-tier player and make a run for the playoffs. Many teams face the same decision, but most are not as close to the decision line as Canada's lone team. They have three weeks to make the decision, so here's an argument for both sides.
Blue Jays as buyers
Toronto is in the thick of the playoff race. They trail the Boston Red Sox by 8.5 games in the American League East race, but trail by just five games in the Wild Card race.
Despite the way the team has been playing, that's not a significant difference and can certainly be made up over the course of more than two and a half months, suggesting the team should be buyers.
They don't need to necessarily be buyers for just the short-term future. They can pick up assets for both now and later. Toronto could use help in the bullpen going forward - being able to trade for a reliever like Joe Smith would make a lot of sense if it could be done without giving up too much. There are no other obvious holes the team can really address though, other than depth.
Blue Jays as sellers
But even the most optimistic Blue Jays fans have to admit the team would do better as sellers. There is a logjam of teams ahead of them in the standings, so it will take some luck for them to surpass them.
They haven't shown anything this season to suggest they can maintain any level of competitiveness in the playoff race. The latest evidence of that before the All-Star break was a 19-1 loss to the Houston Astros. Besides, the other teams in the race are going to be buyers, leading to an arms race.
They have a lot of potential assets to deal away as sellers.
Jose Baustista hasn't been hitting the ball well, but he could galvanize a fan base. He could be a free agent at the end of the season, making him a trade chip. Marco Estrada and Francisco Liriano are among the big name pitchers who will be free agents at the end of the year - neither has had a great season, but a team may take a chance on their track records.
The biggest name, of course, is former MVP third baseman Josh Donaldson. Trading him away could signal a complete rebuild for the Blue Jays. But that just demonstrates the spectrum and wide range of possibilities the team faces as the month accelerates to its dramatic conclusion.
