The Toronto Blue Jays have acquired 24-year old lefty swinging CF Colby Rasmus, 38-year old lefty reliever Trever Miller, 33-year old lefty reliever Brian Tallet and 26-year old righty reliever/starter P.J. Walters. In return, the Blue Jays have sent 27-year old righty starting pitcher Edwin Jackson, 37-year old righty reliever Octavio Dotel, 25-year old lefty reliever Marc Rzepczynski, 31-year old lefty swinging outfielder Corey Patterson and either three players to be named later or cash considerations.

Rasmus will take over in CF right away. He played in 94 games for the Cardinals this year and he was 83 for 338 (.246 avg, .753 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 11 homers, 40 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Rasmus has now played in 385 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 330 for 1,276 (.259 avg, .777 OPS) with 218 runs scored, 50 homers, 158 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. The Blue Jays hope that a change of scenery will benefit Rasmus as he always seemed to be butting heads with Tony LaRussa in St. Louis. Rasmus has a HUGE upside. Trever Miller will be a situational lefty out of the pen for the Jays. He pitched in 39 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals this year and he was 0-1 with 1 save, a 4.02 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP. Miller has now pitched in 685 games (5 starts) in his first 13 years in the majors and he is 18-17 with 11 saves, a 4.19 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Brian Tallet is on the D.L. right now. He has pitched in 18 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals so far this year and he is 0-1 with a 8.31 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP. Tallet pitched in 214 games (31 starts) in five years with the Blue Jays earlier in his career and he is 15-21 with a 4.71 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP for the Jays. Tallet has now pitched in 241 games (36 starts) in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 16-24 with a 4.76 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. P.J. Walters was the Cardinals’ #19 prospect coming into this year according to Baseball America. Walters pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Cardinals this year and he was 0-0 with a 9.00 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He has now pitched in 19 games (4 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 2-0 with a 7.38 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. Walters has also pitched in 17 games (all starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 7-4 with a 4.27 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP.

Edwin Jackson will never appear in a game for the Blue Jays as he was dealt just hours after they got him from the White Sox. He was the key to the deal for the Cardinals. Marc Rzepczynski is also on the move for the Jays. He pitched in 43 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays this year and he was 2-3 with a 2.97 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He was very solid for the Jays in his first season as a full time reliever. Rzepczynski pitched in 68 games (23 starts) in three years with the Blue Jays and he was 8-11 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He is the player in this deal that the Jays will miss the most. Octavio Dotel pitched in 36 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays this year and he was 2-1 with 1 save, a 3.68 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. Dotel was pitching his best ball of the year at the time of this deal. Corey Patterson played in 89 games for the Blue Jays this year and he was 80 for 317 (.252 avg, .665 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 6 homers, 33 RBIs and 13 stolen bases.

This could look like a great trade for the Blue Jays down the road if Rasmus lives up to his potential. If Rasmus fails though, the deal will look like highway robbery for the Cardinals.

The Blue Jays have acquired 27-year old righty starting pitcher Edwin Jackson and 29-year old lefty swinging 3B/OF Mark Teahan from the White Sox for 33-year old righty reliever Jason Frasor and 24-year old righty starting pitcher Zach Stewart. Jackson pitched in 19 games (all starts) for the Pale Hose this year and he was 7-7 with a 3.92 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. He has now pitched in 190 games (161 starts) in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 55-58 with 4 saves, a 4.53 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. I’m hearing that Jackson’s stay in Toronto could be a short one as the Jays are in talks right now involving him and CF Colby Rasmus of the Cardinals. If the Blue Jays don’t trade Jackson, he would be a nice fit in their rotation. The Blue Jays likely had to take Mark Teahan if they wanted Jackson. Teahan has played in 51 games for the White Sox this year and he is 24 for 118 (.203 avg, .582 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 3 homers and 11 RBIs. He has now played in 804 games in his first 7 years in the majors and he is 751 for 2,831 (.265 avg, .739 OPS) with 385 runs scored, 66 homers, 329 RBIs and 45 stolen bases. Teahan will be a backup player for the Blue Jays.

Jason Frasor pitched in 44 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays this year and he was 2-1 with a 2.98 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. He pitched in 455 games (0 starts) in his 8 years with the Jays and he was 24-28 with 36 saves, a 3.69 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Frasor is the Blue Jays’ all-time leader in games pitched (455) and he’s also tied with Miguel Batista for 8th in franchise history in saves with 36 of them. Zach Stewart came into this season as the Jays’ #6 prospect according to Baseball America. Stewart started 3 games for the Jays this year and he was 0-1 with a 4.86 ERA and a 1.86 WHIP. He gave up 26 hits in only 16 2/3 innings for the Blue Jays this year, so he wasn’t missing many bats.

This is a very interesting trade for both teams as Jackson, Teahan and even Frasor could be spun off in separate deals before this Sunday.

A lot of teams need bullpen help and they are going to be calling the Blue Jays. Righties Frank Francisco, Jon Rauch, Octavio Dotel, Jason Frasor and Shawn Camp should be able to net the Jays a nice return prospect wise if they decide to move most or all of them. 3B Edwin Encarnacion and 2B Aaron Hill have disappointed with the bat for the Jays so far this year but teams in need of offense will be calling the Jays. The Blue Jays have also called the Padres about closer Heath Bell lately. Despite having a nice set of veteran relievers, the Jays don’t have any one of them they can count on in the 9th inning. The Red Sox, Yankees, Tigers, Twins, Rangers, Angels, Phillies, Braves, Pirates and Diamondbacks are contenders that all need help in the bullpen. The only way I would consider dealing any of the relievers on the team to the Yankees or Red Sox is if they overpay grossly for one of them. Aaron Hill would likely be of interest to the Cardinals, but other than that I can’t see a team that really needs him among the contenders. Encarnacion is a different story though as the White Sox, Angels, Phillies, Brewers and Pirates have a need at 3B. The Blue Jays are going to be very busy this week.

The Blue Jays have designated 26-year old lefty starting pitcher Jo-Jo Reyes for assignment. Reyes pitched in 20 games (all starts) for the Blue Jays so far this year and he is 5-8 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. He has now pitched in 61 games (57 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 10-23 with a 6.04 ERA and a 1.64 WHIP. The Blue Jays have called up 30-year old lefty reliever Wil Ledezma to replace Reyes on the pitching staff. Ledezma has pitched in 34 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 1-1 with 3 saves, a 4.63 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He has pitched in 187 games (40 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 15-25 with a 5.26 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. Ledezma has a good arm but he never really learned how to pitch, the Jays hope that he’s a late bloomer. It’s likely that righty Jesse Litsch will be called up to replace Reyes in the starting rotation. The Jays hope that Reyes clears waivers and that he will accept an outright minor league assignment because they want to keep him.

UPDATE: (8/2/2011) - The Orioles have claimed Jo-Jo Reyes off waivers from the Jays. I can just see the Jays’ batters getting excited about batting against him when they play Baltimore.

The Blue Jays have released 34-year old lefty swinging infielder Ramon Vazquez. Vazquez played in 20 games in AAA-ball for the Blue Jays this year and he was 23 for 80 (.288 avg, .729 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 1 homer, 14 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has played in 60 games overall this year in AAA-ball and he is 59 for 211 (.280 avg, .701 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 1 homer, 31 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Blue Jays won’t miss Vazquez, but he could hook on with another team to finish out the 2011 season.