Oakland Athletics: What Would a Rich Hill Trade Look Like?

Blue Jays Get Hill to Replace Aaron Sanchez

Toronto Blue Jays Receive: Rich Hill, Marc Rzepczynski

Oakland Athletics Receive: Anthony Alford (86th Overall, BA), Jon Harris (4th TOR, MLB.com), Chad Girodo (16th TOR, MLB.com)

One may not think that the Blue Jays would be a team that will opt to address their rotation at the trade deadline because their starting pitching has been a strength with the type of performances they’ve gotten from Marco Estrada, Aaron Sanchez and J.A. Happ this season. The club also has a promising right-hander in Marcus Stroman, whose numbers have not matched the stuff that he carries. But the team will eventually need to find a starter as Aaron Sanchez is on an innings limit and will shift to the bullpen later in the season.

With Sanchez shifting to a relief role, the team will address some of the struggles that they’ve had with their bullpen in-house. This leaves Toronto without one of their potential playoff starters as they push for a spot in the postseason; enter Rich Hill.

Hill will be a stabilizing force on an already solid rotation and he will be one of the few pitchers available that could adequately replace Sanchez’s production. He would also not have to be relied on as the staff ace with Estrada and Happ’s surprising performances through the first half of this season. The deal would also bring them a solid left-hander in Rzepczynski to continue to improve their shaky relief pitching.

The Athletics would get two longer-term pieces as part of this trade being that Anthony Alford and Jon Harris are each not even playing in Double-A ball yet. However, both have a chance to be solid players at the major league level.

Alford came into 2016 as the 37th ranked prospect, according to mlb.com, but a rough start has pushed him back to the 86th spot in Baseball America’s midseason prospect list. The 22-year-old outfielder still has a ton of potential with his athleticism and dynamic style of play, but he needs to up his production in order to keep moving up the minor league ladder.

Jon Harris was Toronto’s first round pick last year and has been solid at Single-A this season. He may not have the ceiling to be a front of the rotation guy, but he is a safe bet to crack a major league rotation in the future. Chad Girodo gives the Athletics more immediate impact as the left-hander is currently dominating in Triple-A as a late inning reliever. He should be a useful piece for the Athletics in the near future.

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