Geez, what an unlikeable front office. He had to go right now, three days before rosters expand? I don't know how it would be possible to be a Jays fan nowadays without just ignoring everything they do and hoping desperately for new management.

He'll be the new White Sox centerfielder.

He had to go right now, three days before rosters expand?

I'm sure the acquiring team wants him to be eligible for post-season rosters, so, yeah.

Geez, what an unlikeable front office. He had to go right now, three days before rosters expand? I don't know how it would be possible to be a Jays fan nowadays without just ignoring everything they do and hoping desperately for new management.

If they are attempting to trade him to a playoff contender, I would think that the front office is doing him a favour.
I don't understand how this is "unlikeable" in any way.

I was more upset when Riccardi torpedoed Team Canada's rotation by calling up Richmond for 2 starts, right before the Olympics.

Is Snider ready? He's certainly zipped through the system, but this seems like a bit of a rush job.

I guess they were planning to call him up when the AAA season is over in a week, so this isn't that different.

Did they do this in time so that his $10M 2009 option doesn't kick in?

Stairs couldn't be a better fit for Philadelphia, with Geoff Jenkins sidelined indefinitely and the bench desperate for another lefty bat. Seems like the least Toronto could do to make up for ripping out our hearts in '93.

From the title, I thought stairwells at the ballpark were being assigned as strictly "Up" and "Down," and wondered if they had done away with the elevators because they didn't seem to really like going up and down.

i could see stairs going to the mets, too.

It's too soon for Snider. his AAA numbers are nice in a small sample but the AA numbers weren't amazing and he strikes out a ton.

The Blue Jays would not reveal which team was attempting to acquire Stairs

How much do you wanna bet it's the Astros? (Hey, the LaTroy Hawkins deal worked out...)

It's too soon for Snider. his AAA numbers are nice in a small sample but the AA numbers weren't amazing and he strikes out a ton.

Well, the AA numbers were pretty damn good for a 20 year old (.818 vs a league of .745). That being said, I agree that it's probably too early to bring him up. I wonder what the rush is, and why they couldn't wait until next year to bring him up?

Is this a way around the waiver deadline rules? If they put him on revokable waivers, then team A can claim him to block him from going to team B. By designating him for assignment, can any team trade for him within the 10 day window? And only after that does he go into the waiver system?

I'm assuming I'm missing something or we'd see this a lot more in August. Obviously there's the risk Toronto would lose him outright so you don't do this with a good player but for someone like a Stairs, if you've got a deal worked out, there's not much risk.

I'm guessing he had already cleared waivers earlier.

i could see stairs going to the mets, too.

Why? The Mets already have Church/Murphy/Evans/Tatis to play the corners.

OK, I retract my statement. The first article made it look like they were just cutting him like they did with Shannon Stewart and Frank Thomas.

2 years ago Stairs got traded to a contender but the deal was done after September 1, so he was not eligible to play for the Tiger playoff run. Not sure if he wanted to leave Toronto, but if he had to go, I'm sure he's happy to leave now instead of next week.

and why they couldn't wait until next year to bring him up?

Maybe J.P. wants to save his job...haha I think I remember him saying a while back that he wouldn't call up Snider. So, does anyone know if this affects Snider's free agency at all? I for one am excited as hell to see him play.

So, does anyone know if this affects Snider's free agency at all?

Not likley. He gets a little over a month's service time ... and he probably would have gotten a month in Sept anyway. If he's on the ML roster from here on out, he still doesn't become an FA until after the 2014 season, same as if he was on the ML roster as of next April.

There a slim chance that if he's sent up and down a lot over the next few years that this will come back to hurt the Jays, possibly pushing him over the line to be a super-2 or something.

Matt Stairs fits in Philadelphia. And that's not even getting into his baseball ability.

Is this a way around the waiver deadline rules? If they put him on revokable waivers, then team A can claim him to block him from going to team B. By designating him for assignment, can any team trade for him within the 10 day window? And only after that does he go into the waiver system?

A player who is DFA'ed is put on waivers at the same time (at least normally), so that dance still takes place. If he clears waivers, which takes 3-5 days, he can be traded or released.

Why not bring Snider up?
You have a lot more to gain in letting him get used to the bigs from both an on and off-field standpoint than you have to lose, even if he isn't 100% ready.

I don't see the harm in bringing Snider up now and giving him a month in the bigs. The Jays were going to have to add him to the 40 man roster this winter anyway. He'll probably be overmatched, but he's had a great year at three levels and its not like the Jays are either in contention or have anyone better to play for the balance of the season. As Walt Davis points out, he'll almost certainly begin the season in the minors next year (and possibly another year or two after that), so it's unlikely to cut into his reserve years.

From a Phillies perspective this is eerily reminiscent of August 27, 2006, when Gillick traded for a 40-year-old Jeff Conine. So I guess this is about what we can expect the PTBNL to be.

It will be fun to root for Stairs. The Pierre-Luc LaForêt experience last year left us all unsatisfied.

This is fairly big, as far as late August deals go. The Phillies have been rotating AAA filler like Cervanek and Tracy as the last bat on the bench, and Stairs is a big upgrade over that.

Additionally, this hopefully means that Jenkins is relegated to deep on the bench (and off a possible playoff roster), with OBP machines Werth and Stairs in RF. Oh, and they can spot start Dobbs at 3B occassionaly, knowing they still have a decent LH bat off the bench.

Since there are some Jays fans here, my thoughts have been that Stairs is okay as a fielder but with a poor arm. Accurate?

Since there are some Jays fans here, my thoughts have been that Stairs is okay as a fielder but with a poor arm. Accurate?

From what I remember of Stairs when he was with the A's in the late 1990s, he was a below-average RF in terms of both range and arm. I can only imagine that his defense has deteriorated further with age.

I saw matt stairs playing against the tigers at the start of the 2007 season and to be honest his range in left was well below-average.

I think stairs is gonna to be used mostly as a PH and when he does play RF i think it's gonna be a case of if the phils are ahead by the sixth or seventh he'll be yanked quickly for a defensive replacement.

Thanks. Ugh, yeah the range factors are pretty poor. That lessens his value, making Werth a better fit for everyday duties. For some reason I thought he at least took good routes and positioned himself well, but he looks downright Delllucian out there. Well, he still is a massive upgrade on the bench, and he can DH in the Series.

Nice pickup for the Phils but they still need someone, anyone to replace So Taguchi. But the Phils seem to love him so it ain't going to happen.

Stairs is not good defensively. In fact, when I heard this info with no team announced I assumed it would be to an AL team.

I was listening to the Rays' broadcast last night, and Andy Freed and Dave Wills were wondering out loud why Stairs wasn't pinch-hitting in the ninth. Apparently the news (that Stairs had been DFA) hadn't gotten to them.

I pretty much agree with Padraic's take on this. The Phils' bench has been about as bad as it gets, with Dobbs the only reliable bat on it, and Stairs makes a big difference in that regard. I can't imagine that the prospect will be anyone of consequence.

-- MWE

He didn't get officially DFA'd until after the game, so it was a reasonable question, from their point of view.

The Phils' bench has been about as bad as it gets
In the beginning of the year, the bench looked pretty good with Werth, Dobbs, Coste, Bruntlett. The only WTF-were-they-thinking player was Taguchi. Coste is fine as a backup catcher, although he's probably played too much because Ruiz has just flat out stunk this year. WIth Bruntlett's being pretty bad and Jenkins flat out stinking up the joint, Werth is a full-timer. The lack of no ready for the ML or any AAAA type position player at AAA has really hurt the team.

Agreed Edmundo - the rotating 26th bench spot has been a disaster. Chris Snelling, TJ Bohn, Brad Harman, Mike Cervanek, Andy Tracy...these are not legitimate ML options (except Snelling, who, of course, got hurt). The rest hasn't been so bad, in fact Werth, Coste and Dobbs have been so good that that they have significantly outhit the incumbent starters in RF, C, and 3B. The bench didn't get really bad until Werth, Coste, and (sometimes Dobbs) went into the lineup, and all of a sudden you have the hacktastic quintet of Feliz/Jenkins/Ruiz/Bruntlett/Taguchi.

I probably would have spent a good deal of the season railing against Taguchi's spot on the roster, but the sad fact is that they just don't have a single OF in the system even remotely close to contributing...even as a fifth OF. Stairs probably has about as much value to the Phillies as any NL team.

Keeping the fingers crossed on the PTBNL. Jaramillo?

Snider looks to be awesome. He really proved he's an elite prospect this year. At least there's something to be excited about in Toronto this September, other than Doc continually being the most under-appreciated pitcher in the game.

As a Met fan, I don't like this deal, except that it means the Phils will play Burrell and Stairs in the OF at the same time.

Jason Werth has really become a great player and a huge Met killer. Took him a while to get there, but he's a force to be reckoned with now.

Jason Werth has really become a great player
Great against LH, improving vs. RH. A very good outfielder, great arm and terrific baserunner. Also gives a tough AB almost every time. He looks awkward when doing so but he's really good at wasting borderline two strike pitches.
I jumped on the bandwagon last year when he got a little playing time -- you could see that he had a broad skill set.

Since he's white it doesn't get talked about, but Werth is really a 5 (or 4 1/2) tool player. He has a very good arm, is a plus defender in a corner spot, hits for power, has speed, and is okay for average. Oh, AND he has good plate discipline.

He's also career 762 OPS against RHB (350 OBP), which is perfectly acceptable when you mash lefties at a 900 clip. I'd make him the everyday starter in either LF or RF next year, depending on what happens with Burrell.

Ironically enough, Jayson Werth first broke into MLB as a Blue Jay.

He was dealt to the Dodgers for Jason Frasor a few years back. Early on, when Frasor was closing games, it looked like the Jays had won that deal, but based on what Frasor has done lately think the Jays would be glad to have him back.

And FWMOIW (MO = My Observation), Werth plays hard every play too. And he looks demonic, so maybe he grow into a feared™ hitter.

Stairs should be a valuable asset off the bench for the Phils. He's patient, and has enough power to hit an outside fastball to the opposite field for a HR.

Coming out of HS, Travis Snider was listed at 5'11", 245. Stairs hit 250 HR after starting his MLB career at the age of 29. Given an 8 year head start, I wonder if Snider has a shot at 500 HR.

Jayson Werth first broke into MLB as a Blue Jay.

...after coming over from the Orioles in a trade for the immortal John Bale. Werth was the subject of a number of fairly impassioned discussions on the Orioles' mailing list, circa 1998-1999, IIRC. David N probably remembers them.

-- MWE

Coming out of HS, Travis Snider was listed at 5'11", 245. Stairs hit 250 HR after starting his MLB career at the age of 29. Given an 8 year head start, I wonder if Snider has a shot at 500 HR.

He was a good power hitter in the minors, and he's up at the age of 20. All he has to do is average 25 HR a year until he's 40, and he's in.

More seriously, wasn't he mentioned as one of the best potential power hitters in his draft year? I'd imagine he's got about as good odds as anyone, assuming he doesn't put too much more weight on his frame - 245 lbs on a 5'11" man is a lot of weight.

Stairs will probably get some starts in RF against RHP when the Phils have a ground-ball pitcher starting. Werth has been excellent this year, though, so I don't see him losing a lot of time to Stairs.

...after coming over from the Orioles in a trade for the immortal John Bale. Werth was the subject of a number of fairly impassioned discussions on the Orioles' mailing list, circa 1998-1999, IIRC. David N probably remembers them.

I used to have his rookie card. 1997 Bowman, he was a catcher then. I believe it was worth 5 dollars at one point. Nice to see it only took him 11 years to fully come through on his prospect status.

I've wondered if Gillick, seeing the success last year with the oft-injured Jayson Werth, thought he could catch lightning this year with Chris Snelling. He was off to a good start with his 390 OPS+, but 4 PAs are a small sample size. And yes, Snelling is injured right now.

Whatever happened to that Brandon Watson guy? Is he seriously not even a fifth outfielder right now?

Whatever happened to that Brandon Watson guy? Is he seriously not even a fifth outfielder right now?
Crispie, so you like 27 yo AAA LFs with a line of .304/.342/.391, 11/9 S/CS and .964 Fielding %?

Compared to So Taguchi?

Whatever happened to that Brandon Watson guy?

Eh, 733 OPS the last two years at AAA, age 25 and 26. The fact that he hasn't been called up is a little surprising. Bohn and SNelling were already on the 40 man at the beginning of the season, so I can see them getting the first shot, but the fact that they went with Andy Tracy ahead of him is pretty telling.

And yes, Snelling is injured right now.

A sure sign of the apocalypse would be a game that had Hampton, Pavano, Snelling and Nick Johnson all appearing in the same inning.

How about the same month?

Compared to So Taguchi?
Have you ever seen So and Brandon together? Maybe they are the same person.

FWIW, I was against dealing Werth to the Dodgers from day one. JP really had a huge stock of catching prospects when he came in. Amazing that not a single one stuck...

Snelling's injured? He just played yesterday, wasn't taken out at any point.

Fabio Castro is the prospect, according to Buster Olney. Of course Castro is warming up this very moment for the Phils, so who knows.

How about the same month?

Same year?

Same year?

2008! All played some major league baseball this year.