The Toronto Blue Jays were quieter than expected at the MLB Trade Deadline. While they did acquire a few relievers to strengthen the bullpen, the organization really needed another starter to add to the rotation. Alek Manoah and Kevin Gausman have been great all year, but Yusei Kikuchi and Jose Berrios are struggling. Ross Stripling has done well at times, however, there were numerous top-end arms on the market that Toronto could've gone after.

Among them were Luis Castillo, Frankie Montas, Noah Syndergaard, and Pablo Lopez, although the latter ended up staying put. Moral of the story: There was no shortage of options on the bump for the franchise.

Here is the 1 deal the Blue Jays should've made at the deadline.

1 move the Blue Jays should have made at trade deadline

Trade for Luis Castillo

Castillo was arguably the best arm available. He's a Cy Young caliber guy and the Seattle Mariners beat everyone to the punch for him. This is a starter the Blue Jays should've focused on. Montas was always going to the Yankees once New York missed out on Castillo. If Toronto had managed to add Castillo to their rotation, you could've argued they'd have one of the best staffs in the American League.

Berrios is coming around lately. Kikuchi is improving. Regardless, after Gausman and Manoah, it's a bit of a grey spot for the Blue Jays. Castillo has swing and miss stuff and is already putting his brilliance on full display with the Mariners. Sure, Toronto would've had to give up some top prospects in order to acquire Castillo, but that's the price.

The Blue Jays were never seriously in the mix for Castillo. That's just unfortunate. Ross Atkins should've been making numerous calls to the Reds and seeing what they wanted in return. Toronto did a nice job of finding some more bullpen pieces in Anthony Bass and Zach Pop. Are they game-changers, though? No.

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Toronto was reportedly interested in Castillo last winter as well, but nothing ever came to fruition as he ended up staying in Cincinnati for another half-season. The Blue Jays had a clear opportunity to get a lot better at the trade deadline. Instead, the contenders around them did so. The Yankees were already top dogs and after getting Montas and Benintendi, they are even scarier. The Mariners trading for Castillo makes a massive difference and one could argue they're a threat to Toronto in the Wild Card race. The Astros meanwhile brought in Trey Mancini, Christian Vazquez, and another late-inning arm, Will Smith. Houston was already one of the elite teams in the American League and there is little doubt they're above the Blue Jays now with these moves.

The Blue Jays simply didn't do enough. It's already a foregone conclusion Toronto is not going to win the division. This team will make the postseason, but it's about actually being in a World Series. That is the goal and the Blue Jays aren't in a position to do so after the trade deadline. Relievers and Castillo? You could argue the Jays would be a serious contender in the AL.

They dropped the ball. Let's just hope can potentially stun the Astros or Yankees in the playoffs because it will take a miracle for the Blue Jays to actually knock out either.