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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Nationals accommodated reliever Drew Storen on Friday night, trading him to the AL East champion Toronto Blue Jays for outfielder Ben Revere.
The Nationals will also get a player to be named and will send cash to the Blue Jays.
The 28-year-old Storen had sought a deal, having lost his closer role in late July when the Nationals acquired Jonathan Papelbon from Philadelphia.
Storen had converted 29 save chances and had a 1.73 ERA when the Nats got Papelbon. Shifted to an eighth-inning role following that deal, Storen struggled and finished the season with a 3.44 ERA without another save. His season ended in mid-September when he slammed his locker in frustration and broke his right thumb.
Storen was 21-13 with 95 saves and a 3.02 ERA in six major league seasons, all with the Nationals. He had a 1.12 ERA in 65 games in 2014.
For all his success in the Washington bullpen, the right-hander also was tagged with two big blown saves in the playoffs.
Storen failed to close out St. Louis in the ninth inning of the deciding Game 5 in the 2012 NL Division Series, and also let a ninth-inning lead slip away in Game 2 of the 2014 NLDS against San Francisco.
Storen joins a Toronto relief corps that relied on young Roberto Osuna as the main closer last year. At 20, Osuna led the team with 20 saves.
The 27-year-old Revere figures to take over the center field and leadoff job that Denard Span held. Span signed with San Francisco this week as a free agent.
Revere has hit over .300 in each of the past three seasons. He batted a combined .306 for the Phillies and Toronto last year, with a .342 on-base percentage and 31 stolen bases.
The Nationals had hoped to boost their offense from the left side of the plate in the offseason. Coming off a disappointing second-place finish in the NL East, they recently signed free agent second baseman Daniel Murphy — Murphy and Span both bat left-handed.
Revere led the NL with 184 hits in 2014 with the Phillies. In six seasons with Minnesota, Philadelphia and Toronto, he's hit .295 with 176 steals.
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