With a trio of additions at the trade deadline and the best record in the American League, the Toronto Blue Jays were in a good spot heading to Colorado Monday to open a three-game series with the Rockies.

The good times got better at Coors Field, with Toronto smacking a season-high 25 hits in a 15-1 rout of the moribund Rockies.

With fewer than two months remaining in the regular season, ESPN's Buster Olney thinks the Blue Jays are positioned to make a deep run in the postseason.

Olney joined First Up on TSN1050 on Tuesday morning to discuss the trade deadline for the Blue Jays, the state of their competition in the American League and what he thinks the team can accomplish in the playoffs.

"Just as with the [Philadelphia] Phillies, [the Blue Jays'] great advantage over teams is their rotation. It does feel like the Jays are set up pretty well," Olney said.

Toronto swung three deals at the deadline, adding right-handed reliever Seranthony Dominguez in a deal with the Baltimore Orioles, righty pitcher Louis Varland and first baseman Ty France from the Minnesota Twins and starting pitcher Shane Bieber from the Cleveland Guardians.

Bieber is the most intriguing and potentially highest-impact addition: the 30-year-old's resume boasts a pitching triple crown and Cy Young (2020), two All-Star nods and a Gold Glove in seven seasons. He owns a career earned-run average of 3.22 with 958 strikeouts in 843 innings pitched.

"Shane Bieber's a guy that you like to bet on because he's such a credible personality, he's someone who's been around," Olney said. "He feels like a plough-horse guy that you would love to hitch your wagon to down the stretch.

"If he's right physically ... all these minor-league appearances his fastball velocity is up, his command seems to be pretty good and getting better. You feel good about the chances that he's going to be good for you down the stretch," said Olney.

The other factor playing in Toronto's favour is the relative strength of competition in the American League.

Though there are six teams at 60 or more wins, each of the teams currently holding a playoff spot have flaws that will hold them back in one way or another.

For the Blue Jays (66-48) over the last week, theirs has been inconsistent play - Toronto won just two of seven games against the Orioles and Kansas City Royals around the deadline, two teams far out of playoff contention this season.

Plagued by inconsistent offensive performance in that stretch, Olney recognized that the Jays ran into the MLB-worst Rockies at a good time.

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"Given where the Blue Jays are in the standings, given what's gone in the American League, this series came at a good time."

Other elite teams in the AL have flaws as well - the Tigers (66-48) have the look of a team that is better than the sum of its parts. "On the days that Tarik Skubal pitches, [the Tigers are] the best team in the American League - maybe all of baseball - but otherwise it's wide open," Olney said.

The Yankees (60-53) are in a tailspin, with a 7-11 record since July 12 and sloppy defensive play haunting them at every corner.

"Those new [trade deadline additions] would've probably suffered from PTSD with all the defensive miscues if their first game had been played at Yankee Stadium," Olney said. "The Yankees on their best day may be a good team if Max Fried pitches or Carlos Rodon is having a good day."

Perhaps the best team in the AL since the start of July has been the Boston Red Sox (63-51), who have won 20 of their last 26 games to surge into the top wild-card slot.

"I spoke to a couple league GMs and [the sense was] there are two camps - the general managers focused on their efficiency models and getting the most value they could based on the analytical study of the potential deal, and the general managers that were like 'f--- it, I want to win the World Series' and stepped up," Olney said. 

"The Red Sox fell into the former camp, where it's just wrangling over value and not looking at the American League landscape and saying 'we have a chance to win the division and maybe the World Series.'"

With a rotation set to be boosted by the arrival of Bieber and an offence ranked eighth in runs scored, the Blue Jays may be the best-equipped to make a run at a World Series appearance.

At the very least, Toronto seeks to win its first AL East title since 2015 and only second in the last 31 seasons.

"I love that the Blue Jays went in at the deadline and they're taking their shot," Olney said.