The Blue Jays have traded 34-year old righty swinging 3B Scott Rolen to the Reds for 26-year old righty swinging 3B Edwin Encarnacion, 26-year old righty reliever Josh Roenicke and 22-year old righty reliever/starter Zach Stewart. Rolen played in 88 games for the Blue Jays this season and he was 108 for 338 (.320 avg, .846 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 8 homers, 43 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. The Blue Jays will miss Rolen’s defense and solid bat but this trade was too good for the Blue Jays to pass up. Edwin Encarnacion will replace Rolen as the Blue Jays’ starting 3B. He played in 43 games for the Reds this season and he was 29 for 139 (.209 avg, .707 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 5 homers and 16 RBIs. Encarnacion has now played in 514 games in his major league career and he is 462 for 1,764 (.262 avg, .793 OPS) with 236 runs scored, 71 homers, 263 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. He might still have some upside even though he never likely reached his full potential in Cincinnati. Josh Roenicke was the Reds’ #14 rated prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. Roenicke pitched in 11 games (0 starts) for the Reds this season and he was 0-0 with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He also pitched in 27 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this season and he was 1-0 with 12 saves, a 2.57 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Roenicke will likely join the Blue Jays’ bullpen right off the bat. Zach Stewart was the Reds’ #15 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He has pitched in 23 games (14 starts) this season in A+AA+AAA ball this season and he was 4-1 with 2 saves, a 1.67 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. This was a good trade for the Blue Jays as it will help them down the road.

The Blue Jays have acquired 25-year old righty reliever Sean Smith from the Pirates for future considerations. Smith has pitched in 25 games (4 starts) in AA+AAA ball this season and he is 4-3 with 7 saves, a 2.67 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. He only has allowed 56 hits in 70 2/3 innings this season proving that he’s good at missing bats. This was a nice little pickup for the Blue Jays as Smith could help out the bullpen down the stretch.

The Blue Jays have designated veteran outfielder David Dellucci for assignment. Dellucci was simply pathetic for the Blue Jays as he played in 8 games with the Blue Jays in which he was 1 for 25 (.040 avg, .252 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 2 RBIs. The Blue Jays won’t miss Dellucci at all.

The Blue Jays could be selling soon and they have a ton of veterans who could be made available. The biggest player that could move from Toronto is Roy Halladay. To get him the Blue Jays would have to ransack a team for at least four of the top 10 prospects in there system and a little more than that. Alex Rios could also net a nice package in return for the Blue Jays based on his age and talent level. Scott Rolen and Brian Tallet could also net a couple of decent prospects in return. Veterans Rod Barajas, Kevin Millar, John McDonald, Raul Chavez and Shawn Camp could all bring some fringe prospects in return. Look for the Blue Jays to be a different team come August and it might help them down the road.

31-year old righty swinging 1B/DH Randy Ruiz is flat out ripping the ball in AAA right now. He has played in 85 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 113 for 343 (.329 avg, .983 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 17 homers and 75 RBIs. If the Blue Jays start making some trades and Ruiz continues to hit he will get a chance to play in Toronto later his year.