Phillies trade Ben Revere to the Blue Jays

About a half-hour before Friday's 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline, Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. approached Ben Revere with news. The 27-year-old outfielder had been traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, where he will join a revamped club with aspirations of ending a 22-year playoff drought.

The Phillies in exchange acquired a pair of minor-league righthanded relievers in Alberto Tirado and Jimmy Cordero. Tirado, 20, pitched 31 games of high-A ball this season, and Cordero, 23, threw his last 17 games in double-A.

Revere joins a Toronto club that made two of the most stunning trades of the week - acquiring five-time all-star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies and 29-year-old ace David Price from the Detroit Tigers. Revere, hitting .298 and with 24 stolen bases in 29 attempts, gives them a leftfielder to start against righthanders as well as speed off the bench.

"It's been a fun ride," Revere said before packing his belongings in the Phillies clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park. "It's been a great ride, playing for the Philadelphia Phillies. I know I've had my up and downs for the past three seasons, but I think it's been great. The fans, the coaches, my teammates - everybody. The people I've met here, around the community, it's just been all great."

Tirado is the higher regarded of the two pitchers, both of whom hail from the Dominican Republic. He is said to have shown potential, accompanying his fastball with a slider and change-up, but also struggle with control. He has a 3.23 ERA over 611/3 innings this season.

Cordero, whose fastball is said to reach triple digits, boasts a 2.70 ERA over 50 innings this season between high-A Dunedin and double-A New Hampshire. He was promoted to double A in late May.

Revere spent a bit more than two and a half seasons with the Phillies, first as their everyday centerfielder and then this year splitting his time between center and the corner outfield positions. He hit .303 over 335 games with Philadelphia, tying for the National League lead with 184 hits last season. His skill set was better suited for a club in contention than on baseball's worst team. He is not set to become a free agent until 2018.

"It's a business. That's the business side," Revere said. "Everybody is sad to see me go, but it's also happy that I'm going to a team that could be contending for a playoff spot. That's what you're trying to do. You play this game to win and I'm trying to win a championship, and that's what I'm going to try to do when I go there."