The excellent major-leaguer Scott Rolen played only 203 games for the Blue Jays, but the impact left behind during his time in Toronto was surprisingly immense.
Consider this: the Blue Jays claimed Jose Bautista on waivers — and then worked out a trade with Pittsburgh for him — because Rolen was injured and assistant general manager Alex Anthopoulos liked Bautista’s versatility and passion and needed him to fill in for Rolen at third base.
The following season, and completely unrelated, Rolen asked to be traded.
General manager J.P. Ricciardi made a trade deadline move to appease Rolen, sending the 34-year-old to the Cincinnati Reds in a deal for three players, the significant name being Edwin Encarnacion.