In order to replace the departed Denard Span in their starting lineup the Washington Nationals have acquired Ben Revere from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for reliever Drew Storen with a player to be named later also headed to Washington.
Last season Revere hit .306/.342/.377 in 152 games with the Philadelphia Phillies and Blue Jays with two home runs, 45 RBI and 31 stolen bases. He was acquired by the latter at the July 31 deadline in exchange for minor-league pitchers Jimmy Cordero and Alberto Tirado and hit .319/.354/.381 for his new team down the stretch.
Storen is coming off a season where he went 2-2 with a 3.44 ERA with 29 saves and a career-high 11 strikeouts per nine innings. The former 10th overall pick has a 21-13 record with a 3.02 ERA and 95 saves over his six-year career.
The Blue Jays are dealing from a position of relative strength by shipping Revere as they also have Michael Saunders and Dalton Pompey as starting options in the outfield.
Revere is under team control through 2017 and is projected to earn $6.7 million through arbitration according to MLB Trade Rumors. Storen has a projected price tag of $8.8 million and he will be a free agent after the season.