Dodgers could stick a fork in Blue Jays with Toronto nearing trade deadline fire sale

The Toronto Blue Jays' collapse this season has been one of the more enjoyable storylines for Los Angeles Dodgers fans to follow from afar. The team that gave the Dodgers an admittedly admirable run for their money in last year's World Series is now fifth place in the AL East, 6.5 games out of a Wild Card spot with a -63 run differential.

The American League Wild Card picture is mess, and less than two weeks stand between now and the deadline. Just like the rest of the AL's will-they-will-they-nots — the Seattle Mariners, Baltimore Orioles, Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros, and Detroit Tigers are all between 2-6.5 games back — it's been tough to tell how the Blue Jays are going to handle the trade deadline. But unless they go on a Red Sox-esque run between now and Aug. 3, it looks like they're going to end up selling.

Kevin Gausman was the talk of baseball on Wednesday, when Mitch Bannon of The Athletic named the eight teams he can reject a trade to. Daulton Varsho, Jeff Hoffman, George Springer, and Shane Bieber have all also been named as potential trade chips.

The Dodgers reportedly plan on doing their usual "hanging around the backboard" instead of going out of their way to acquire big ticket pieces. But if they can take a stab at any of Toronto's available pitchers, maybe they should.

Dodgers could make Blue Jays fans' lives even worse if Toronto sells at the trade deadline

LA already took a flier on Eric Lauer when Toronto basically pushed him out the door earlier this season, and he's become a stalwart for the Dodgers' rotation, much to the chagrin of Blue Jays fans. Gausman hasn't exactly been lights out this year, but he's a workhorse with postseason experience. Bieber has been worse, but it could make him cheap.

If the Dodgers can take a stab at Tarik Skubal or Joe Ryan, they'll go that route first. They might only care to add significant pieces if they're the best possible pieces available, which Gausman and Bieber aren't. However, Tyler Glasnow's prognosis is still unclear, Shohei Ohtani might not pitch until October, if then, and it's clear that Dave Roberts wants Emmet Sheehan out of the rotation.

The Dodgers are by no means desperate, but their depth is certainly being tested. Andrew Friedman isn't the kind of executive who makes moves from a place of fear, but a little reassurance never hurt anyone. Gausman and Bieber are both workable pieces, and they'd come with the fun bonus of sticking it to Blue Jays fans.

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