Blue Jays acquire best-available reliever on trade market from St. Louis Cardinals

Strap in, folks, we've got a major Blue Jays trade going down as we speak.

Per Craig Mish of the Miami Herald Sports and MLB Network, the Blue Jays are acquiring relief pitcher Jordan Hicks from the St. Louis Cardinals. As of right now, the player(s) heading back to St. Louis have yet to be confirmed. Aside from Josh Hader, who may not even be moved by the deadline, Hicks was easily the best-available reliever on the market, so this is a massive get for the Jays.

This move comes just a day after the Jays placed closer Jordan Romano on the injured list with a back injury. Upon his placement on the IL, rumors immediately began to fly surrounding how exactly the Jays would replace him in the back end of their bullpen.

Hicks, 26, has been rumored to be a trade chip for the Cardinals for weeks now, but he was just recently reported to be in contract extension talks with the club. All along, the expectation was that he would be moved if progress was not made. Looks like we have our answers.

On the season, the flamethrowing right-hander has a 3.67 ERA, 3.02 FIP and 118 ERA+ in 40 outings, with eight saves and 59 strikeouts in just under 42 innings. He throws high heat and has shown immense promise over the course of his five-year career with the Cardinals when he's healthy. In the past, he has missed considerable amounts of time with a whole slew of injuries, but health has been on his side in each of the past two years.

While no move has been announced regarding Hicks' official acquisition, it's worth wondering whether this could spell the end of Mitch White's tenure in Toronto. With other optionable pitchers like Jay Jackson and Génesis Cabrera performing well and White struggling, this feels like the move to make for the Blue Jays.

More to come on this move as the news is released.