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Atkins: Blue Jays 'absolutely' focused on adding and winning

Rick Madonik / Toronto Star / Getty

The Toronto Blue Jays' front office isn't prepared to label themselves as sellers with more than two months to go before the non-waiver trade deadline.

Despite sitting in last place in the American League East at 20-26, Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins remains optimistic and will chart a course for the franchise depending on how the club plays when some of their star players return from injury.

"There isn't a perfect answer to that," Atkins said when asked if the club will be buyers or sellers at the deadline, according to Arash Madani of Sportsnet. "Five days ago we were a win off of last year's record at the time. We need to go on a run. The division fortunately hasn't gotten away from us, and we're very much in it, but we need to go on a run at some point soon.

"There is no concrete timeline on when we have to make a decision by, because it all depends on the division and how we're playing. It's a sliding scale. At some point we'll know on subjective, objective and projected health on what's best for the organization. We've absolutely remained focused on adding and winning."

The Blue Jays enter play Wednesday 7 1/2 games back of the New York Yankees in the division despite Aaron Sanchez, Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, and J.A. Happ missing significant time. Both Donaldson and Tulowitzki are expected to return this weekend which should go a long way in helping Atkins evaluate his club.

Should the Blue Jays opt to be sellers, though, Atkins will have plenty of veteran pieces he could look to deal. Marco Estrada, Francisco Liriano, Jason Grilli, Darwin Barney, and J.P. Howell are all free agents at the end of the season, while Jose Bautista has a mutual option. Donaldson, Happ, and Aaron Loup are free agents at the end of next season.

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