ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Toronto Blue Jays designated Matt Stairs for assignment after Thursday night's 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay, and the designated hitter-outfielder expects to be traded by Saturday.
"I can tell you that I am going to a contender, so that makes it a little easier to swallow," said Stairs, who would not name the team. The Blue Jays would only say they were working on a potential deal.
"He's not shocked," manager Cito Gaston said. "He's a veteran. He knows it's that time of the year. He's fine."
Stairs, a 40-year-old native of Fredericton, is hitting .250 with 11 homers and 44 RBIs in 105 games.
Toronto also purchased the contract of outfielder Travis Snider from triple-A Syracuse.
"We're going to play the kid and see what he's got," Gaston said.
Snider also played at class-A Dunedin and double-A New Hampshire this season. The 20-year-old had a .344 batting average with two homers and 17 RBIs in 18 games at Syracuse.
