TORONTO - The Toronto Blue Jays acquired outfielder Michael Saunders from the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday in exchange for left-hander J. Telvin Smith Jersey .A. Happ in a deal that essentially closes the door on the possibility of free agent Melky Cabrera returning to the team. The deal was the latest move by Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos in what has been a busy off-season. He recently dealt longtime first baseman Adam Lind to the Milwaukee Brewers, acquired star third baseman Josh Donaldson in a trade with the Oakland Athletics and signed catcher Russell Martin to a lucrative long-term deal. Saunders, a 28-year-old Victoria native, is expected to be the everyday left-fielder for the Blue Jays. We like the fact that Saunders can play all three outfield spots if needed, we think hes going to play an above-average defensive left field, Anthopoulos said. (Hes) a left-handed bat, which is appealing as well (and) can steal a base - hes stolen 21 bases before. We think he has some power in going from that ballpark (Safeco Field) to ours. He can unlock some things in our lineup as well and the two years of (team) control is nice too. Saunders, who was selected by the Mariners in the 11th round of the 2004 draft, hit .273 with eight homers and 34 RBIs in 78 games last season. He spent parts of six seasons in Seattle but battled injuries this year, including joint inflammation in his right shoulder and a strained left oblique. Hes always been a productive player and a big part of that is he brings so much with his defence and his base-running that hes always going to provide value to the club, Anthopoulos said. From an offensive standpoint I think the expectations have always been high, because hes a five-tool player, he can do everything and sometimes that isnt fair. Were not placing those expectations on him to hit in the middle of our lineup, to carry the offensive load. ... The way we see it, hes a guy who played 139 games in 2012, 132 games in 2013, obviously missed time this year but he did hit 19 home runs in 2012 and still had a pretty solid OPS in 12 and 13 in that ballpark. ... If we got the Michael Saunders from 12 and 13 wed be very, very pleased. Happ was uneven over parts of three seasons in Toronto, but had a solid second half to the 2014 campaign. He was 11-11 on the year with a 4.22 earned-run average over 158 innings. His departure improves Aaron Sanchezs chances of making the starting rotation. Hes going to be stretched out in spring training, but it certainly has increased his odds, Anthopoulos said. But hes still going to have to earn a spot right now, depending on what else we might do. Sanchez, a 22-year-old right-hander, was brilliant out of the bullpen in his first season with the Blue Jays. He was 2-2 with a 1.09 ERA in 24 appearances, striking out 27 batters and issuing nine walks. Cabrera, meanwhile, declined the Blue Jays US$15.3-million qualifying offer last month to test the free-agent market. There was interest in a potential return but the two sides were too far apart on contract talks. Cabrera hit .301 in 139 games last season with 16 homers and 73 RBIs. He missed the last few weeks of the season due to a fractured finger. Anthopoulos still has plenty of work to do. The bullpen will now likely get his full attention and he could still use an upgrade at second base. Also Wednesday, the Blue Jays signed first baseman Justin Smoak to a US$1-million, one-year contract, a day after he was non-tendered by the team. Smoak was acquired Oct. 28 off waivers from the Mariners. Toronto also agreed to terms with centre-fielder Ezequiel Carrera on a minor-league deal with an invitation to major-league spring training. Notes: The Blue Jays have added an exhibition game against the Canadian national junior team to their pre-season schedule. A Toronto split-squad will face the juniors March 15 at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium. ... The Toronto chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America unveiled its 2014 award winners Wednesday. Slugger Jose Bautista was a unanimous choice for player of the year. Right-hander Mark Buehrle was pitcher of the year, right-hander Marcus Stroman was rookie of the year and Cabrera was named most improved player. Right-hander Casey Janssen was the winner of the John Cerutti Award, given to the person who exemplifies goodwill, co-operation and character. Marcell Dareus Jersey . - Jayden Hart scored once and set up two more as the Prince Albert Raiders downed the host Red Deer Rebels 5-3 on Tuesday to clinch the final Western Hockey League playoff berth. Brad Nortman Jersey . -- Kael Mouillierat scored three times and set up one more as the St. http://www.jaguarsfansclub.com/Black-Marcedes-Lewis-Jaguars-Jersey.html?cat=913 . I kept my eyes focused up on the camera during each approach. I just tried to stay focused on my form, as I didnt know what the ball reaction was. I was quite emotional at the end. I did not actually see any of the shots in the game until I got home and watched the video.NICOSIA, Cyprus -- It wasnt the result he wanted but John Herdman was pretty happy about how Canada finished the Cyprus Cup womens soccer tournament. Diana Matheson and Sophie Schmidt scored second-half goals as Canada rallied for a 2-1 win over Ireland to secure fifth place. It marked the first time in six years the Canadians hadnt reached the tournament final, but Herdman was encouraged by how his team dealt with that adversity. "The team showed a real resilience and that second-half performance was just phenomenal," he said. "This is a very unique group of women, when the chips are down they really can pull it out of the bag. "You think theyre out and then they come back and keep fighting but I thought the second half wasnt just about fight. They played just some wonderful football. The Irish were on the rocks for 45 minutes and we knew it was just a matter of time." Ireland opened the scoring early in the first half before Matheson tied it at the 56-minute mark. Schmidt highlighted a wild finish, scoring at the 90-minute mark. Canada, ranked seventh in the world, has traditionally fared well in this event. The national team won the tournament three times and was a finalist the last two years. But that streak ended with a 2-0 loss to England on Monday. And considering all the Canadians needed to advance was a draw, Herdman admitted the defeat was a bitter pill to swallow. "Absolutely," he said. "In previous tournaments we dodged the bullet of having England or France in our qualifying group and when we ended up (with England) in our group, we knew that was the game that was going to make the difference. "Getting the girls up for this one was tough because we were pretty devastated. But we tried to focus on this being a World Cup and just losing the final game in our group but still having qualified with another game to play and what strategies wed have to put in place to get things pulled around and in focus. It was a pretty good two days for our team." Despite the fifth-place finish, Herdman said the Canadian team learned many valuable lessons at the tournament. "We struggled, and Ill tell you why we did against the English and Irish defensive tactics," Herdman said. "The English held a really deep defensive block and hit us on the counter-attack, they just preyed on our sloppy play and within seconds were firing shots or crosses and I think that was the real learning this year. "Against a zone or 4-4-2 we did well, we did well against Italys 3-5-2 but against that deep 4-5-1 block, which is also what the Irish did, we struggled. Lerentee McCray Jersey. . But what was exciting about that last game was we were able to get hold of a tactic and the players really made a big push." The 2014 and 15 seasons are big ones for Canadian womens soccer. In August, the world under-20 tournament will be held in four cities -- Edmonton, Moncton, Montreal and Toronto. Then in 2015, Canada will host the womens World Cup with games in Edmonton, Moncton, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver and Winnipeg. And following Canadas stirring bronze medal victory at the 2012 London Summer Games, there will be plenty of expectations on the national teams shoulders in 2015. That fact certainly isnt lost on Herdman, who said the squad has a definite plan in place. "Its always been said Canadians are great in the power phase, theyre good at defending and theyre good at the counter-attack," he said. "But the ability to control and develop possession through the thirds of the pitch, thats the strand thats been missing. "Weve put a massive amount of focus in that and at times it has been to our detriment. We couldve went into the England game and said, Look, well drop a deep block, well launch it from the keeper every time we get it because the only focus is about winning the tournament, but we didnt. We played our way." Herdman said playing their way meant a definite eye to the future and not just another solid Cyprus Cup showing. "If we were going to win the tournament, we were going to win it a certain way that would also help us be more successful against teams in the womens World Cup playing a brand these girls wanted to be recognized for," Herdman said. "Even after we went up 2-1 against the Irish, the girls were still doing things trying to play a certain style of football where normally youd try to kill a game off. "At this stage of our development I think thats OK but when it comes down to the World Cup, well be in a stage where we know how to play those games like we did at the Olympics." So for Herdman, his measurement for success at the Cyprus Cup goes way beyond wins and losses. "I think we definitely got better, our statistics were way better than theyve ever been," he said. "There are things we wanted to work on post-Olympics to get the team ready for 2015 and those have improved. "Its just now chemistry and understanding when we play our way how that fits against the models of other teams. Weve got a year-and-a-half to figure all that out and get the plans ready." Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '