With best record in MLB, Blue Jays excited for potential Deadline additions

DETROIT -- They can run from Thursday's Trade Deadline, but they cannot hide. It’s on the TV, it’s in their phones, it’s in the clubhouse air.

This is the Trade Deadline lead-up that the Blue Jays have dreamed of. Not only do they have the added motivation of possessing the best record (62-42) in the Major Leagues, but they have the money and prospects to shop in any aisle. Frankly, this Trade Deadline should run through Toronto.

• It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's Super Vlad ... and he's heating up

Those wearing the Blue Jays’ uniform want to embrace it, even if they don’t really have a choice to begin with.

“Let’s say I have 50 friends. I may have less than that, but if I do, I have 50 friends who are GMs or family members who are GMs,” said manager John Schneider. “That, I could do without, but yeah, you pay attention to it and see how each person fits into the team they’re going to. I’m lucky enough to know more than what the TV knows, so that makes it a little easier.”

A year ago, the Blue Jays held a fire sale, making eight deals ahead of the Deadline. It was chaotic, messy and emotional. So many lineups, batting practice groups and friendships were broken up because a baseball team didn’t win enough games. If those were the bad days, these are the good ones.

“Last year was weird. It was like I was walking around the clubhouse saying, ‘Don’t know, you’re here, you’re here, I’ll let you know,’” Schneider said. “This is definitely exciting and much more accustomed to where we hoped to be and what the years prior to last year have been.”

Schneider is involved in all of this. Sometimes, general manager Ross Atkins will take something to him, simply asking, "Do you prefer this idea or that idea?" It’s just a small part of the big picture, but it still matters. Schneider’s job, from there, is to decide how much he shares with his players.

So much of this goes unspoken, and so much of it doesn’t need to be said. It’s obvious to anyone in baseball that the Blue Jays are a very good team with a shot at greatness. The right handful of moves can turn this team from a great story to a story we tell forever.

“I think it’s on everybody’s mind a little bit,” said shortstop Bo Bichette. “We’ve put ourselves in a position where we think that there should be things done to help us. At the same time, we’re so confident in everybody in that room that, honestly, whatever happens, we’ll just continue to come here and try to win. I don’t think that nothing happening would affect this group.”

• Bichette feels there's something special brewing with 2025 Blue Jays

They can’t escape it, either. If they aren’t actively scrolling social media themselves, they have the same 50 friends and family that their manager does, sending them every rumor and report. This can be exciting for the right player, but it also requires a bit of a filter.

“You can’t really try to read too much, especially nowadays, because you never really know what’s truthful and what’s just clickbait,” starting pitcher Kevin Gausman said. “My thoughts now are just to wait until those guys show up and go from there. You never really know until they’re actually in the clubhouse with you, but it’s definitely nicer to be on this side than the other.”

Gausman was drafted by the Orioles in 2012 and debuted with them the next season. Social media was prevalent then, but the nonstop content mill of coverage we see today did not.

Blue Jays fans have learned this the hard way through multiple high-profile pursuits in free agency and the trade market in recent years. It can be more challenging for younger players who are more eager and more “online," but Gausman has the benefit of 13 years in the big leagues. He’s watched Trade Deadline lead-up morph into what it is today.

“I’m going to sound old, but I feel like there wasn’t as much media surrounding it as there is now,” Gausman said. “It was just a little bit easier to go about your day, but now it’s everywhere. You can’t ignore it, to be honest. As a player, it’s exciting when you have guys who show up and you know that the team brought them in to do a job.”

That day is coming. It’s just a matter of exactly who walks through those doors. Whoever it is will be walking into one of the best clubhouses in baseball, one that’s poised to take a run at a World Series.