Blue Jays acquire Taillon from Cubs in possible precursor to bigger moves

TORONTO -- The Blue Jays have made their first trade ahead of Monday’s 6 p.m. ET Deadline, acquiring starter Jameson Taillon from the Cubs.

Taillon was born in the United States and grew up there, but his parents are Canadian and he has represented Team Canada twice at the World Baseball Classic, including this year.

TRADE DETAILS
Toronto gets: RHP Jameson Taillon, cash considerations
Chicago gets: Player to be named later or cash considerations

The 34-year-old Taillon was recently designated for assignment by the Cubs during a difficult season in which he’s posted a 5.92 ERA over 76 innings. Taillon was effective last season, though, with a 3.68 ERA, and has a long track record of success in the big leagues. He’s currently in the final year of his four-year, $68 million contract, though it’s unclear at this moment just how much of Taillon’s remaining salary the Blue Jays are taking on.

“I’ve seen him a bit over the course of his career with the Cubs and Yankees,” manager John Schneider said. “I know that he’s been better than what he’s shown this year, so I’m excited to get to know him. I think he’s meeting us in Houston.”

This represents an addition for the Blue Jays, who could soon be subtracting from their rotation with Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber and even Max Scherzer all potential trade candidates.

• Gausman calls joining Toronto 'best decision I ever made'

In any of those scenarios, Taillon would immediately step in and handle their innings while he works with the Blue Jays to get back to his form from 2025 and prior.

Everything around the Blue Jays continues to point toward them selling, even if that involves a little more “buying” in the long term as they explore each market. Sunday’s 5-1 loss was a letdown after taking the first two from the Cardinals, and at 52-60, any burst of momentum this season has fizzled out quickly, keeping Toronto stuck on this path.

“We have not performed to our capabilities, and now the front office might have to make decisions about the roster because of that,” Scherzer said. “I understand that. I respect the job the front office has to do. They’ve got to make the decisions that are best for the organization.

“If they sell, that’s on us as players. We have not done our job holding up our end of the bargain, going out there and winning ballgames. If they don’t sell, great. We’re getting 40,000 fans a night. We want to go out there and play. We’re only a few games out of the Wild Card, and anything can happen.”

Taillon’s arrival makes the Blue Jays’ first decision easy if they move a pitcher, as they’ll slide the veteran right into that spot. If a second pitcher is moved, this gets more complicated.

The Blue Jays have stretched Rule 5 Draft wonder Spencer Miles out multiple times this season, but he’s already at 72 innings. Toronto would likely prefer to manage those innings down the stretch, given that this already represents a major spike in his workload.

Simeon Woods Richardson is back in the system and has found a nice groove in Triple-A as a starter, while Chad Dallas, CJ Van Eyk and Adam Macko could all be multi-inning options. The Blue Jays could also look for another deal like this one for Taillon, potentially even taking back an arm in one of their deals involving Gausman, Bieber or Scherzer.

We’ll know by 6 p.m. ET Monday. By the time the dust settles, there should be a couple of Blue Jays trades making much bigger headlines than this first one for Taillon.