The Toronto Blue Jays made another move this deadline, acquiring infielder Josh Smith and pitcher Josh Stephan from the Texas Rangers in exchange for left-hander Adam Macko.
Evan Grant first reported the Smith-for-Macko portion of the deal, with Ben Nicholson-Smith confirming the full trade shortly after.
Smith is hitting .213 with one home run across 45 games for Texas this season, a real step back for a player who's shown better offensive form in the past.
He does bring genuine defensive versatility to Toronto's infield mix, the kind of utility profile that's valuable regardless of where his bat sits in a given season.
Stephan joins as a depth piece further down the system, adding to a farm system that's been especially active in reshaping its pitching pipeline all summer.
Macko leaves Toronto with a 4.91 ERA across 22 appearances this season, a Canadian left-hander who's carved out a real bullpen role even amid inconsistent results overall.
Texas sits at 55-57, second in the American League West, coming off a rough 3-7 loss to Houston, a middling record that puts the Rangers in a position to make smaller depth moves like this one.
Why this trade fits a quieter deadline theme
This isn't a blockbuster on the scale of the Gausman or Soriano deals, but it reflects the kind of smaller roster tweaks that happen constantly around bigger headlines this time of year.
Smith gives Toronto another option at multiple infield spots, useful depth for an organization that's dealt with real injury issues across its infield this season.
It's a bit like trading a reliable used car for a fixer-upper with better parts underneath, betting the change of scenery helps both sides more than the surface numbers suggest.
Does landing Smith's defensive versatility outweigh moving a bullpen arm like Macko, or does this deal end up looking more lopsided depending on how each player performs going forward?
Toronto continues fine-tuning its roster through the deadline, and this trade adds one more storyline to an already busy stretch of moves for this front office.
Do you like the Blue Jays trading Adam Macko for Josh Smith and Josh Stephan?
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