The Blue Jays almost traded for Josh Naylor instead of Andres Gimenez
According to reports, the Blue Jays showed a ton of interest in the Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor prior to the trade for Gimenez happening but decided to go with the second baseman instead.
Ben Nicholson-Smith of Toronto SportsNet reported that "they're believed to have shown some interest in Josh Naylor in the talks leading up to Tuesday's trade." -Wild
This is an interesting move by the Blue Jays since Naylor would have brought some much needed offense to the lineup and would have been exactly what they need in an offensive threat to pair with Guerrero.
While the Blue Jays do already have a first baseman in Guerrero, they could have easily moved him over to third base and had Naylor play first base which would have left them needing to trade Ernie Clement.
What makes this report puzzling is that the Blue Jays already have arguably the best first baseman in baseball, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. -Wild
Acquiring Gimenez was a great move for the Blue Jays defense but unfortunately does not help them with their offensive struggles since he is far from a great hitter despite what Ross Atkins has stated.
Blue Jays fans will likely be upset to find out they were this close to landing a star hitter like Naylor who happens to be Canadian as well and ended up with Gimenez instead.