BLUE JAYS ADD TO THEIR FLOCK
Revere, Lowe follow Price deal
From the outside, one might have imagined a flinty-eyed Alex Anthopoulos mapping out his master strokes, then setting out with steely resolve to land a batch of big fish — Troy Tulowitzki, David Price, LaTroy Hawkins, Ben Revere and Mark Lowe — all in the space of four days that left the Blue Jays fan base gasping.
Indeed, the general manager did land two superstars and three other quality players, turning over onefifth of his roster and unloading 11 pitching prospects in the process. He finished the week by acquiring Revere from the Phillies to play left field and Lowe from the Mariners to bolster a vastly improved bullpen.
But behind the scenes, the GM and a coterie of aides dealt with constantly moving targets, trade scenarios that emerged and faded, sometimes for good, sometimes to rise again. No one knew for sure what would happen from one hour to the next, or whether a deal would get done.
“Deals get done all the time, and I know it seems like there was a flurry of them and they’re so easy to make, but it’s amazing how many things end up falling apart because there’s another piece that needs to be added or someone has an issue with their health,” Anthopoulos said after the biggest set of deadline deals in franchise history.
It is not just the number of acquisitions that is impressive. It is the quality of the haul. If Anthopoulos had a checklist, he would have ticked off nearly every box.
“But,” he said, “there were a lot of times I was not optimistic. The prices were just too high for us. And then all of a sudden things came together. But we didn’t come in here saying, ‘Let’s go do five things, six things.’ Sure, you want to, but I had no idea how the week was going to play out.
“And I didn’t go to bed (Thursday) night thinking, OK, we were going to add Ben Revere and Mark Lowe (Friday). It was just, those guys are available, they’re probably getting moved. Are we actually going to get a shot at them? I have no idea. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”
It brought Revere, a left-handed contact hitter who batted .298 with a .334 on-base percentage and 24 stolen bases for the Phillies this year. He is arbitration-eligible after this season but under club control through 2017.
Manager John Gibbons said he expects to bat Revere, 27, at the bottom of the lineup and platoon him in left field. Gibbons declined to identify Revere’s platoon partner.
Lowe, 32, is a hard-throwing reliever who posted a 1.00 ERA in 34 games for the Mariners. He is eligible for free agency after the season.
Gibbons said Lowe could work in the seventh, eighth or ninth innings. The manager now has a plethora of such relievers and the luxury of having a couple of fresh late-inning arms virtually every night.
Both new players are expected to join the club on Saturday. Their arrival will necessitate corresponding roster moves.
Anthopoulos described his week as a “whirlwind.” Because he was cooped up with his staff for the past five days, he was not tuned in to the buzz his deals have inspired among Blue Jays fans.
“I’m excited to see, now that we’re done with the trade deadline, how excited the fans are,” he said. “I hope they are. I hope our attendance really spikes. And I hope we start winning games, and everyone across Canada gets really excited.”