TORONTO — Two on, one out in the sixth inning and Max Scherzer at 77 pitches, John Schneider jogged out to the mound rather than walk. When the Toronto Blue Jays manager does that, the man on the mound has a chance to plead his case, which is precisely what the 42-year-old righty did.There was no expletive-laced venom Sunday afternoon like there was during Game 4 of the American League Championship Series, but Scherzer convinced Schneider that he could escape the jam and then he did just that. He then walked off the Rogers Centre field to a standing ovation from a crowd of 41,321 having allowed just one run over six strong innings in what finished as a 5-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.“He just wanted to know where I was at,” said Scherzer. “We had talked about pre-game where the finish line was and … I said, ‘Let me see what we’ve got against (Ivan) Herrera’ and then (after Herrera flew out) I looked in the dugout and said, ‘I can finish it.’ That’s how that went.”The messy defeat — the Blue Jays gave up four runs, three unearned in the ninth right after tying the game — in their final outing before Monday’s 6 p.m. ET trade deadline left the Blue Jays at 52-60 as they headed out to Houston for three games against the Astros.In preparation for the possibility of subtraction, they acquired recently designated-for-assignment righty Jameson Taillon, who has Canadian parents and pitched for the national team at the World Baseball Classic this past spring, from the Chicago Cubs for cash or a player to be named later, and his exact fit is still to be determined. He’s expected to join the team in Houston.Related:Blue Jays acquire pitcher Jameson Taillon from Chicago CubsAs the Blue Jays considered sell possibilities, they were also believed to be looking at different buy opportunities. Even at eight games under .500, they were still only four games out of the final wild-card spot, pending the results of Cleveland’s and Minnesota’s games.“As far as I know everyone’s getting on the plane,” said Schneider. “We’ll see in 24 hours what shakes out, if anything.”That the Blue Jays are in the murk as the deadline looms “is frustrating,” said Scherzer. “Look, we’re in this position because as players, we have not performed to our capabilities and now the front office might have to make decisions about the roster because of that. I understand that. I respect the jobs the front offices have to do. They’ve got to make decisions in the best interests of the organization. If they sell, that’s on us as players, that we have not done our job of holding up on our end of the bargain and winning ballgames.“If they hold and don’t sell, great. We’re getting 40,000 fans a night. We want to go out there and play. We’re only a few games out of this wild card and anything can happen. This is baseball and we are a good team. If I’m starting to get healthy here, who knows what can happen? You just want that opportunity to go out and compete to win.”Whatever happens, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ acquisition of Tarik Skubal, which had felt inevitable, from the Detroit Tigers late Saturday night, started to uncork the starting pitching market, with one executive saying Sunday morning that he expected things to pick up there.Sure enough, they did, as the New York Mets sent Freddy Peralta to the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder Aidan Smith, ranked as their 15th-best prospect by Baseball America, righty Gary Gill Hill (No. 27) and infielder Emilien Pitre, a Canadian taken in the second round in 2024.The deal seemed to offer a rough gauge of how a rental like Kevin Gausman, for instance, could be valued.As that played out, the Blue Jays threw a little more intrigue into the mix as George Springer started in left field for just the second time this season. While Schneider had said recently he’d use the veteran slugger there against certain left-handed starters — Matthew Liberatore on Sunday certainly fit the bill — the timing a day before the deadline gave the move some showcase vibes.With the right to decline a trade as a player with 10 years of service, five with the same team, Springer controls any process, and all he offered about his future Saturday was that “I love this team, I love this organization, and as far as I know, I am here.”Between his salary and limitations in the field, he’s a very specific fit for a club, which is why the outfield start was notable, giving potential suitors a glimpse at how much defensive utility he might offer.Regardless, Springer looked to be having a blast. From left field, he waved over Myles Straw in right, turned around and chatted with the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen behind him and pumped his fist when Max Scherzer struck out Lars Nootbar to open his outing.“I told him before the series, one of these days, probably against the left-handed starter, he’ll be out there. He’s good with it,” said Schneider. “He’s been playing enough to where it’s not going to really affect him. You don’t want to go from zero-to-100 all the time with him. In a perfect world, we’re taking him out, probably, in the seventh inning with the lead. But I think he’s doing fine with it. I think he’s good with going out there whenever we ask him to do it.”He wasn’t very busy in left, although he did have to retrieve the ball on Lars Nootbaar’s RBI double in the third that opened the scoring. Springer’s one-out triple in the seventh gave the Blue Jays a chance to tie, but they fell short until the eighth, when Luis Urias ripped a double that tied the game 1-1.The Cardinals retook the lead in the ninth when Masyn Winn walked, and consecutive singles by Bryan Torres and Jose Fermin brought him home, before an Urias error led to three more runs that broke the game open — the type of disheartening outcome that underscores why the Blue Jays are facing this type of deadline.“No matter what happens over the next 24 hours, we’re going to come here and compete and try to win,” said Schneider. “Whoever that’s with is whoever that’s with. It’s a hypothetical world until (Monday) at 6 p.m. Eastern. I think things are trending in the right direction. Guys have the right frame of mind and I like the way some of the guys are swinging the bat. I always say you’ve got to play in sync. … I’m going to ride with these guys every single day, no matter what the outcome of today or tomorrow is. Our job is to keep pushing forward.”