With the Athletics looking like one of the few obvious sellers leading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, reliever Tyler Clippard figures to be a popular name. One surging team in the AL East has already reached out to express interest in a deal:
The #BlueJays recently checked in with #Athletics on Tyler Clippard. Toronto looking for both starting and bullpen upgrades.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) June 13, 2015
The Blue Jays were reportedly interested in Clippard over the winter, so it’s easy to understand why they are revisiting the possibility. The 30-year-old has functioned as Oakland’s closer this season, posting a 3.20 ERA and 22/13 K/BB ratio over 25 1/3 inning while going 9-for-11 in save opportunities. He’s making $8.3 million this season and will be a free agent this winter.
Brett Cecil is Toronto’s closer right now, but they haven’t needed him much in that capacity recently. He notched his first save since May 4 last night.