What did the Marlins want for Ozuna?

Miami Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna was connected to the Toronto Blue Jays before being shipped to the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday.

Steve Phillips: One of the things I found out is what the Marlins wanted from the Blue Jays. Toronto checked in and asked what they wanted for Ozuna, but the Marlins came back and said they wanted Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Both of them. And that was the starting point of the discussions, and clearly it was the ending point for the Blue Jays. Toronto is an organization that covets their young players and they don’t want to give up those two young guys for Ozuna. So Christian Yelich, who’s got five years of control, is a year younger than Ozuna and is arguably a more valuable player overall, the asking price seemingly will be higher than what it was for Ozuna, and will maybe be a non-starter for the Blue Jays all along.

How do the Jays fill their outfield holes?

Steve Phillips: The Jays are going to have to solve their outfield needs in some different ways. They’ve been tied to Carlos Gonzalez and Carlos Gomez, so they’re cornering the market on the CarGos in their level of interest right now. So we’ll see which direction they go but the likelihood is they’re going to go for the shorter-term deals hoping to get a bounce-back player in return.

What about the infield?

Steve Phillips: Some other news as well when it comes to the infield. The Blue Jays are tied to Eduardo Nunez, who started last year for the San Francisco Giants and went to the Boston Red Sox in a trade. He injured his knee at the end of the year, but he’s a guy that can steal bases, hit for a pretty good average, and can play second, short and third. So he fits that model of an infielder that they’re looking for. Another guy to keep an eye on is Zack Cozart, who was an All-Star last year for the Cincinnati Reds. He is a guy who played only shortstop and looks at himself as a shortstop, but somewhere down the road he may realize there’s not a shortstop market and a second base or utility role may open. The Blue Jays would have a level of interest right there, so we’ll keep an eye on that position.

What’s the latest with Josh Donaldson ?

The St. Louis Cardinals are rumoured to be interested in Toronto’s All-Star third baseman, but what are the chances the Blue Jays are open to moving him?

Steve Phillips: The Cardinals did their due diligence to check in with the Blue Jays on Josh Donaldson but nothing’s changed from the Blue Jays’ perspective. Mark Shapiro made it clear that they’re in it to win in 2018 and Donaldson is a critical part of all of that. As he said all along, he doesn’t see a trade for Donaldson that makes sense because the only way he would consider it is if a deal would make them better and give them a better chance to win in 2018. They’re not interested in trading Donaldson for prospects to help them down the road. Now, the other thing that Mark Shapiro made clear as well: With all of the talk of the potential ownership sale of the team, he said look, I have my doubts that that’s going to happen, but owners have the chance to do whatever they want and if they did, he said we’ll have to deal with it. But he doesn’t think it’s going to happen.

He also made something else real clear: there is no mandate – absolutely no mandate – from ownership limiting any of the decisions that he has to make. They have a plan, he can sign Donaldson to a long-term deal if it’s a deal that makes sense to him. He could consider signing another player to a long term deal if it makes sense to him. Ownership is not limiting anything because of the thought of a potential sale.

Does Sabathia make sense for the Blue Jays?

The Blue Jays reportedly met with veteran left-hander CC Sabathia earlier this week, but would he be a good fit in Toronto?

Steve Phillips: I think it’s a great fit for the Blue Jays. They’re a team in it to win it this year, he’s a veteran left-hander who gives them some depth and some balance in the rotation, he’s been an outstanding regular season pitcher, a great postseason pitcher, a big-game winner and a guy who both Ross Atkins and Mark Shapiro know from their days in Cleveland. Plus, he’s had success in the American League East.

But because of all of those things, he’s an attractive guy to a number of different teams. The Baltimore Orioles have expressed some interest, he’s met with the Los Angeles Angels as well and there’s a lot of speculation in New York that if the Yankees are interested in bringing him back, that would be his first choice. So the Blue Jays wait but it’s clear that he’s a very attractive pitcher that makes a lot of sense, but New York is probably his first choice.