This one isn’t yet officially official, but it seems on the verge: the Blue Jays are about to pick up Ben Revere from the Phillies. No word on the return, but for this:

Ruben Amaro basically said another deal is coming w Phils getting A ball player back.

— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyCSN) July 31, 2015

Revere was long known to be available. He had next to no place on the Phillies, moving forward, and several contenders checked in, the Jays ultimately emerging victorious in the…well, I guess sweepstakes, if you want to call it that. Of some interest here is that Revere doesn’t have to be a rental, as he still has another two years of arbitration eligibility. He’s a little bit pricey, because he’s a Super Two player, but he is affordable in the future if that’s the way the Jays elect to go.

They aren’t doing this because of the future, though. This is clearly about another strengthening of the immediate roster, with the Jays fully committed to winning right away. As a player, Revere couldn’t be any less mysterious. He’s perfectly well understood, and his skillset is in the vicinity of average, regardless of which WAR you like to use. So this has nothing on the Troy Tulowitzki addition, but Revere’s still going to be an upgrade in left field. This morning, the Jays projected as one of the worst teams in baseball, as far as their left-field situation was concerned. Now Revere slides in, handling at least right-handed pitchers and relieving the team of Ezequiel Carrera. Danny Valencia will also spend less time hitting against righties, where he’s historically struggled.

Revere helps the outfield, basically, and he’s also fleet of foot, which you can’t say of many of his new teammates. Perhaps surprisingly, the Jays have been an above-average baserunning team, but the leader in steals is the departed Jose Reyes, with Kevin Pillar the only other guy with more than four. Revere preserves an element present with Reyes, and so he adds that element back with Reyes gone. Pitchers have already had enough trouble working with the Blue Jays’ power at the plate; now they’ll have Revere to worry about on the bases. It’s a very small thing, and maybe not a thing, but this’ll be just another way for the Jays offense to dole out unpleasantness. It won’t be all about dingers.

The Jays thought they had their solution in Michael Saunders. He was supposed to be a pretty good left fielder, until injuries conspired to eat up almost all of his season. Right now, Saunders is still looking to return in several weeks, so he’s not out for the remainder, but the Jays have learned they can’t count on him to provide anything consistent, so they opted for Revere and will deal with Saunders when they need to. Maybe that means he’s a bench bat. He could be a decent one. Think of it as even more potential depth, for a team that’s accumulating it.

The Blue Jays still aren’t in playoff position. If they come up short, they can’t say they never saw it coming. But what they are now might be the best team in the American League. They’ve got two months to get to where they want to be.

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UPDATE

Trade’s official now. Going to the Phillies: Jimmy Cordero and Alberto Tirado. Cordero’s a 23-year-old righty reliever who’s moved into Double-A this season. Tirado’s a 20-year-old righty reliever/long man in High-A. Before the year, Kiley had Tirado as the Jays’ No. 17 prospect, while Cordero was filed under “others of note.”