Fansided

MLB Trade Rumors: Blue Jays and Phillies getting close on Ben Revere trade

By Kyle Franzoni

Jul 2, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Ben Revere (2) slides home safe during the seventh inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park. The Brewers won 8-7. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 2, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Ben Revere (2) slides home safe during the seventh inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park. The Brewers won 8-7. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Toronto Blue Jays continue to be major players at the MLB Trade Deadline and may soon land outfielder Ben Revere from the Phillies.

Imagine this Blue Jays fans, Ben Revere riding into town on a white pony with a lantern and a bell yelling, “your lead-off hitter is coming, your lead-off hitter is coming.”

Already one of the most active teams at the MLB Trade Deadline, the Toronto Blue Jays appear ready to add another needed piece to their bounty that already includes Troy Tulowitzki and David Price. According to Jim Salisbury of CSN Philadelphia, the Blue Jays are close to a deal that would send outfielder Ben Revere to Toronto.

For Toronto, this deal makes all sorts of sense, both from an offensive and a defensive standpoint.

In acquiring Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies, the Blue Jays gave up their lead-off hitter in Jose Reyes and lost his replacement Devon Travis, to a shoulder injury the next night. That has left the team using Tulowitzki in the first spot of the order each of his first two nights with the team. Revere is a career .291/.324/.338 hitter in the lead-off spot. He also brings some much needed speed to the hole, having nabbed 169 bases over his six year career.

Meanwhile, Revere can also settle the team’s outfield picture. In 533.1 innings in left field over the course of his career, Revere has a UZR/150 of 9.5, which will be a stark upgrade over the outfield play received from Chris Collabello.

That all said, it will be interesting to see what the Blue Jays would need to surrender in such a deal for Revere. The 27-year-old is under club control for two more seasons, and the Phillies has purportedly been asking a lot for the outfielder. Purportedly, the Phillies asked the Seattle Mariners for either James Paxton or Taijuan Walker earlier this summer, which would have been a steep overpay. They’ll have to come down steeply to swing this deal with Toronto, which has already parted with numerous top prospects to land both David Price and Troy Tulowitzki.

Next: Baseball's Untouchable Prospects at the MLB Trade Deadline

More from MLB Trade Rumors

Home/MLB Trade Rumors