6 past trade deadline acquisitions that ended up helping the Blue Jays reach the postseason

Ben Revere (2015)

At the same time when the Jays added Price to their pitching staff, they still had a glaring hole within their lineup in that they did not possess a traditional leadoff hitter who boasts a high on-base percentage, along with the speed to be able to swipe some bases to help set up runs. That was not until Anthopoulos pulled his magic again and went out to get that prototypical leadoff hitter in Ben Revere from the Philadelphia Phillies.

For his career, Revere was never really a player that worked for a lot of walks, but he was a great contact hitter and got on base frequently due to his high batting average. In his eight seasons in the MLB, Revere tallied a .284 batting average and a .319 on-base percentage. He even led the NL in hits during the prior season in 2014 with 184, so the Jays believed he could be the ideal leadoff hitter to help set the table for their lethal lineup. In addition, Revere averaged close to 30 stolen bases each year in his career, so that would come in handy when the big boys came up behind him in the batting order.

At first, the Jays eased Revere in as he acclimatized with his new team by batting him at the bottom of the order. Eventually, he was moved into his familiar leadoff position where things took off from there. In the end, Revere certainly did his job, as he hit .319 with a .354 OBP, scoring 35 runs, with nine doubles, one home run, 19 RBI and seven stolen bases in 56 games played. His inclusion gave just the right balance to the Jays’ overall offensive lineup, and in doing so, helped power the offence down the stretch that ended with a well-earned postseason berth.