The Toronto Blue Jays have been one of the most pleasant surprises in baseball this year, which put some pressure on the front office heading into the MLB trade deadline. It is nice being a division leader heading into the All-Star break and at the end of July,

The Toronto Blue Jays had to take a gamble. USA Today's Bob Nightengale calls it the "biggest gamble" made at the MLB trade deadline. The move that qualified: Toronto's trade for Cleveland's Shane Bieber.

The Kirk and Heineman incidents in rapid succession underlined the importance of organizational depth, particularly now that the trade deadline has passed.