Report: Blue Jays, Indians came close to Carlos Carrasco trade

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The Toronto Blue Jays have been one of the most active teams in all of baseball in their search for a starting pitcher and according to one report, they nearly got their hands on one.

Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.com reports that the Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians came close on a deal that would have sent Carlos Carrasco to Toronto, but the deal fell apart at the “finish line.”

Carrasco, 28, is under contract through 2020 and is scheduled to make anywhere from $4.5-9.5 million every season, which is a very team friendly deal. It’s unclear who would have been sent to Cleveland in the deal, but it was likely a good sized trade package filled.

As Davidi noted, a player under contract for the next couple seasons at a cheap rate makes much more sense as a trade target for the Blue Jays rather than a couple month rental. This is likely why the team likes Mike Fiers of the Milwaukee Brewers, in addition to Carrasco.

The Blue Jays have many other options left as they hope to land a legitimate starting pitcher, but Carrasco is likely out of the picture now. If all goes to plan, they should add at least one starting pitcher before the July 31 trade deadline.

Follow Robert Murray on Twitter @RobertMurrayBBE