NEW YORK (AP) -The Toronto Blue Jays traded veteran Matt Stairs to Philadelphia in a deal that wrapped up early Saturday, giving the Phillies an additional left-handed bat for the stretch run.
The 40-year-old Stairs was designated for assignment Thursday night, and the designated hitter-outfielder expected to be traded by the weekend.
The Blue Jays received a player to be named, likely a minor league pitcher.
The move provides the Phillies with additional depth after they placed Geoff Jenkins on the 15-day disabled list last Saturday with a strained right hip flexor. The team’s best left-handed hitter off the bench has been pitcher Cole Hamels.
Stairs is expected to join the club in Chicago, where the Phillies have dropped the first two games of an important four-game set against the Cubs. Philadelphia began the day two games back of the New York Mets in the NL East.
“It will be a good fit for Matt,” said Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi, who was in New York to see Toronto in its last trip to Yankee Stadium. “They had Geoff go down and needed someone off the bench. He should be able to help them.”
To qualify for the postseason, a player must be on a team’s major league roster before Monday. With the Blue Jays fading from contention, Ricciardi said more moves are possible.
“I think you’ll see some things happen,” he said. “They’ll be minor things, but things could pick up in the next day or two.”
Backup roles have become quite familiar to Stairs, who broke in with the Montreal Expos in 1992 and will be joining his 11th major league team. He’s hitting .250 with 11 homers and 44 RBIs in 105 games, but the Blue Jays decided to deal him and give top prospect Travis Snider significant playing time the remainder of the season.
The 20-year-old outfielder was called up from Triple-A Syracuse and started Friday night against the New York Yankees. He got his first big league hit in the sixth inning and later scored.
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