Blue Jays have 2 prime pitcher trade candidates

A year after making it to Game 7 of the World Series, don't expect the Toronto Blue Jays to shut down their pursuit of a return to the postseason.

They've started to right the ship a bit, but there's still plenty of work to do, and that could mean trades are coming.

The Blue Jays were aggressive at last season's trade deadline to acquire both Shane Bieber and Louis Varland.

If they want to take the same route this season, they'll likely need to deal from their surplus of pitching prospects, according to MLB.com's Keegan Matheson.

Matheson writes that both Gage Stanifer and Johnny King could be available for the right big league piece.

"If the Blue Jays want to swing big at this Trade Deadline, they’ll have the prospects and financial muscle to make it happen," Matheson writes. "Stanifer, the Blue Jays' No. 5 prospect, is 22 and pitching well in Double-A, making him an attractive 'near term' arm for rebuilding clubs."

MORE: A 'gentlemanly' baserunning move confused the umpires, and everyone else

King is actually the more well-regarded prospect of the pair.

"The Blue Jays also have some higher-upside arms, like No. 3 prospect Johnny King, and this front office has shown a clear willingness to move top prospects for legitimate MLB pieces over and over again," Matheson writes.

Neither of those guys would be good enough to get someone like Tarik Skubal. But could they go after someone like the Mets' Freddy Peralta? Potentially.

A lot will depend on just how much of a groove Toronto can find in the next month-plus. If they're rolling by the deadline, the Blue Jays will certainly take a big swing or two once again.

More MLB news:

• Bo Bichette reveals his plans for his opt-out clause
• Bumpus Jones is trending for an 1892 accomplishment
• The last time a team was this bad at walking, it took 9 balls to earn a walk
• Outfielder retires from baseball to go play college football
• Guardians pitcher trying to complete incredible comeback