A new era has begun for the Toronto Blue Jays as most of the players from their 2015 and 2016 playoff appearances are gone and a new wave of players are taking over. Remaining from their playoff days are only four players: Ryan Tepera, Justin Smoak, Aaron Sanchez and Marcus Stroman with the latter three being available for trade as the Jays try to improve on their strong farm system.

Stroman is the most intriguing player available. Through seven starts this season, he holds a 2.20 E.R.A. with 39 strikeouts in 41 innings pitched. While not an elite starting pitcher, he's proven himself as a reliable starter that can be trusted as a fringe frontline starter or a strong mid-rotation starter.

Another thing about Stroman is that he's no stranger to high-pressure situations as he pitched in the 2016 wild-card game which the Jays won and was also named finals MVP in the 2017 World Baseball Classic where he came reasonably close to throwing the first no-hitter in World Baseball Classic history. With the Jays making him available, here are some potential trade packages the Jays could receive for Stroman.

Atlanta Braves

Braves get: Marcus Stroman

Jays get: One of P Kyle Wright or P Ian Anderson, P Kyle Muller and UTIL Ray-Patrick Didder

With the Braves hoping to reign as division champions in a tough NL East, they will need some pitching reinforcements. The Braves rotation is average with Foltynewicz, Teheran, and Gausman leading the way but behind them, the rotation remains young and inexperienced which the Braves could benefit from bringing in a rotation arm.

In order to get Stroman, the Braves would need to part ways with either the second-ranked prospect in Kyle Wright or third-ranked prospect in Ian Anderson, their number 13 prospect in Kyle Muller and their last ranked prospect in Ray-Patrick Didder.

With the exception of the Marlins, the Braves might have the worst rotation of the competitive teams in the NL East.

If they hope to win their division again, they will most surely need a rotation arm to keep them afloat. If Stroman were to be traded to the Braves, he would be reunited with Braves GM Alex Anthopolous who drafted Stroman with pick 22 in the 2012 draft. He would also be reunited with Josh Donaldson who was teammates with Stroman on the Jays from 2015-2018.

Meanwhile, the Jays would get a good haul for Stroman if this trade were to occur. They would get a potential frontline starter in Wright or Anderson who could end up being much better than Stroman ever will be. It's important to note that both were drafted in the first round with Wright being the fifth overall selection in the 2017 draft and Anderson being the third overall pick in the 2016 draft. Along with one of those guys, the Jays would also receive Muller who holds a 3.04 E.R.A. in his minor league career with 240 strikeouts compared to 193 hits given up. The last player in the deal would be Ray-Patrick Didder whose biggest asset is speed as he has 113 stolen bases in the minor leagues and has a 70.6 percent stolen base success rate.

Didder is also versatile as he can play multiple positions across the diamond which is something the Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins loves in a player.

San Diego Padres

Padres get: Marcus Stroman

Jays get: P Luis Patino and one of P Adrian Morejon or P Ryan Weathers

During the offseason, there were rumors that the Jays and Padres were discussing a Stroman trade where Stroman would be going to the Padres in exchange for pitching prospects Michel Baez (ranked eight) and Logan Allen (ranked nine). That was when Stroman was coming off a season where he posted a career-worst 5.54 E.R.A. and a career-worst .283 opponent average. Last season he was also only limited to 19 starts with injuries which could be a big reason why he didn't do as well.

With renewed success, that trade simply just won't do. In order for the Padres to get Stroman, they would have to give up their sixth-best prospect in Luis Patino and either their seventh-ranked prospect Adrian Morejon or their tenth ranked prospect Ryan Weathers.

The Padres rotation remains extremely young. Not one of their starters has more than three years of major league experience under their belt. With an extremely strong farm system and a mediocre major league team, the Padres are close to being a competitive team and could compete for a playoff spot possibly next season. The Padres could surprise some people and contend this season but they're not there just yet. In order to get there, acquiring an experienced starter would go a long way.

Getting Stroman, who's under contract until the end of next season, would go a long way. While Stroman is doing well in a tough AL East division playing at mostly hitter-friendly ballparks, Stroman could potentially excel in the pitcher-friendly Petco Park. Another benefit with the Padres getting Stroman is when the Padres visit the Rockies to play at the extremely hitter-friendly Coors Field, Stroman should do just fine as he's known for being able to induce groundballs. To add to that, Stroman has yet to give up a home run this season which Coors Field is extremely prone to.

In return, the Jays would receive pitchers who have a ton of potential with which to excel at the big league level. In the minors, Patino holds a 2.41 E.R.A.

with 174 strikeouts compared to 118 hits given up and a .213 opponent average. The Jays would also net one of Morejon or Weathers in the deal who both project as mid-rotation starters in the major leagues but both have the potential to turn into more. This deal would be beneficial for the Jays who lack strong pitching prospects behind Nate Pearson who's the only Blue Jays pitching prospect who's projected to be a solid major league pitcher.

Minnesota Twins

Twins get: Marcus Stroman and RP Ken Giles

Jays get: OF Alex Kirilloff, P Stephen Gonsalves and two minor league players

The Twins currently are leading their division right now and truly have a shot of ending the Indians division title run but in order to do so, they will for sure need to add to both their rotation and bullpen which are huge weaknesses for the Twins.

The Twins lack solid starting pitching behind ace Jose Berrios and they are also without a true closer. The Jays can help them out here by sending them Stroman and CL Ken Giles in a package deal with top prospect Alex Kirilloff going the other way along with Stephen Gonsalves and two minor league pieces to complete the deal.

The Twins haven't had a solid pitching staff in the rotation or bullpen for a long time and it's something that needs to be addressed for a team that hopes to remain competitive throughout the season. Their bullpen this year lacks a true closer as they've used multiple pitchers to record a save. Acquiring Stroman and Giles would help them out a lot as it covers both their needs.

While Giles would become a free agent at the end of the year, they would still be able to control Stroman for next season.

Going north of the border would be the eighth-ranked prospect in all of baseball, Alex Kirilloff. Kirilloff is currently sidelined as he's recovering from Tommy John surgery but has slashed .335/.377/.541 with 244 hits and has only struck out 118 times. Joining Kirilloff in Canada would be Stephen Gonsalves. Gonsalves, a former top 100 prospect himself has fallen off the board recently due to his struggles in his brief tenure in the major leagues last season but with proper development, he could still be a quality major league pitcher. Gonsalves has also previously been compared to Madison Bumgarner who remains one of the better pitchers in the major leagues.

Another two non-prospects would also go to the Jays to make the deal complete.

Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers, and Tampa Bay Rays

The Rockies, Brewers, and Rays are all competitive teams in need of starting pitching but it will be hard for these teams to acquire Stroman for a variety of reasons. The Rockies dream of having a pitcher like Stroman who's known for inducing ground balls a necessary thing in such a hitter-friendly park as the one they play in, but their lack of quality pitching and outfield prospects is what would make a deal complicated to work out. They could entertain the idea of offering top prospect Brendan Rodgers but the Jays future infield seems set with Guerrero Jr at third, Bichette at short and Biggio at second and that's not to mention that they also have their first-round draft pick from the 2018 draft in Jordan Groshans who plays third base.

The Brewers would also benefit from getting a pitcher like Stroman as the Brewers rotation can easily be pointed out as a weak spot on their team. Their rotation lacks a true ace and has dealt with injuries to starters Chase Anderson and Jimmy Nelson who hasn't pitched since 2017. What will make it hard, though, is their lack of pitching prospects, something the Jays are in need of. The Brewers could be willing to include Brandon Woodruff in a deal for Stroman but hasn't been anything spectacular in his major league career as he currently holds a 4.47 E.R.A. in 33 appearances.

There's no doubt that the Rays have the prospect capital to make a trade for Stroman but what will prevent both sides from making a deal is that they both play in the same division which makes it tough for teams in the same division to trade with each other, especially for a player like Stroman who can be controlled beyond this season.
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