d, so once he threw (Branson) I went out and let him know that

TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays made a splash last off-season when they acquired Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, John Buck, Emilio Bonifacio and Josh Johnson from the Miami Marlins. That trade didnt get the expected results for Toronto, and general manager Alex Anthopoulos is moving the team in a different direction. Bonifacio was traded by the Blue Jays on Wednesday to the Kansas City Royals for a player to be named later or cash, while Johnson will have an MRI to see how long it will take for him to recover from a strained right forearm. "Clearly they havent played and performed the way we expected them to when we acquired them, theres no doubt about that at all," said Anthopoulos when asked if he was second guessing the Marlins deal. "But the process when you go into these things you know theres no guarantees of performance. "Sometimes you have guys that perform a lot better than you thought they could both internally and externally." Bonifacio hit .218 as a utility player this season with three home runs, 20 runs batted in and 12 stolen bases. He saw time at second base, shortstop and all three outfield positions. Kansas City claimed the 28-year-old on waivers, forcing Anthopoulos to strike a deal. "It just didnt work out," said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons. "Ton of talent, got some opportunities. It just never came together on a consistent basis. We loved the guy, what he brings to the park. He shows up to play, he could make some things happen, there just wasnt enough consistency there." The Toronto front office agreed with Gibbons assessment after the trade with the Royals was complete. "I think we expected him to be a better player, a better player overall," said Anthopoulos. "I think theres no doubt about that, we thought wed get more out of him offensively, defensively, all of it. "That didnt happen. I dont want to diminish his talent or take away his work ethic." Johnson (2-6) has struggled on the mound all season with a 6.20 earned-run average. The right-hander was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Aug. 7 with a strained right forearm. An MRI scheduled for Wednesday night will decide if he plays for Toronto again this season. "Its too hard to tell," said Anthopoulos. "I think well know more tonight and certainly tomorrow and then Ill be able to make a determination." The Royals are 6 1/2 games out of first place in the American League Central and four games back of the second wild-card spot. Trading Bonifacio cleared space on the roster for outfielder Kevin Pillar, who was recalled from Buffalo. Pillar, the Blue Jays 32nd-round pick in the 2011 draft, could make his major-league debut at Rogers Centre on Wednesday night against the Boston Red Sox. "This gives us a chance to bring Pillar up and get a look at him too," said Gibbons. Toronto also announced that outfielder Colby Rasmus was on the 15-day disabled list and recalled popular infielder Munenori Kawasaki. Gibbons said that Kawasakis return to Toronto already had an impact on the Blue Jays clubhouse. "When he walked into the clubhouse you could hear that the noise level rose," said Gibbons. More changes could be in store soon for the last-place Blue Jays, who are 17 games back of the American League East-leading Red Sox. Johnson and Bonifacio are not the only pieces of the Miami trade that have had issues. Although Reyes had a hot start to the season, he missed two and a half months with a severely sprained left ankle. Wholesale Authentic Jerseys . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. 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SEATTLE -- Nelson Cruz reached another home run milestone, this time with a shot that left no doubt where it was going to land.I thought it might be out of the stadium from the angle I was sitting, Seattle manager Scott Servais said.Cruz hit his 20th home run of the season, Robinson Cano had three hits including an RBI single and the Mariners beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-2 on Tuesday night.Seattle won for the third time in four games thanks to an offense that finished with 12 hits and a key walk in the fifth inning that started the Mariners three-run rally.While Cruzs home run was the big blow of the fifth inning, the biggest at-bat came from Franklin Gutierrez. With two outs, Gutierrez was able to work a 10-pitch walk off Pittsburgh starter Jonathon Niese (6-6). Gutierrez advanced to second on a wild pitch then came around to score on Canos third hit.It really started it all. Two out, nobody on and a walk. Amazing how that works, Servais said. We talk about it, its really what we did a lot earlier in the season and I think this whole homestand has been better.Cruz then followed with a line shot just fair down the line. It was his 11th homer this season off a left-hander, and Cruz became the only current player with at least 20 home runs in every season since 2009. David Ortiz and Brian McCann can also reach that mark this season.Its just being able to play a lot of games, Cruz said. Its how you put the numbers (up). You dont just throw it out there. You have to play games to be able to put up numbers. Youre thinking as a player how to stay healthy and play as many games.Niese didnt make it out of the fifth for his shortest outing of the season.I thought I had some pretty good stuff early, just at the end everything went flat, Niese said.Seattle starter Hisashi Iwakuma (7-6) took a shutout into the seventh inning before giving up a pair of runs. Iwakuma has pitched into the seventh in six of his past seven starts. Without his normally sharp splitter, the veteran relied heavily on a slow curveball that kept Pittsburgh off-balance.Chris (Iannetta) had a lot of confidence in it in the bullpenn.dddddddddddd He called it a lot, I didnt shake and it worked out well, Iwakuma said through an interpreter.Iwakuma was nearly perfect through the sixth, facing just one batter over the minimum and allowing two hits. He ran into trouble in the seventh, beginning with Gregory Polancos leadoff double. Polanco scored on Starling Martes triple to deep right-center field, and Marte scored on David Freeses two-out single. Iwakuma was lifted after giving up a base hit to Adam Frazier, the fourth hit of the inning.Edwin Diaz got out of the jam in the seventh and pitched a perfect eighth. Steve Cishek pitched the ninth for his 18th save.SEE YA!Pittsburgh hitting coach Jeff Branson was ejected by home plate umpire Ben May arguing a strike call on the first pitch of the fifth inning. Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle soon followed, getting ejected after a brief argument with May after Branson had been tossed.I didnt think it was warranted, so once he threw (Branson) I went out and let him know that this was a little continuation of what weve been dealing with too much, Hurdle said.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: RHP Gerrit Cole (triceps strain) threw a 35-pitch bullpen on Tuesday and threw fastballs and off-speed pitches. Cole threw just 15 pitches in his last bullpen session, all fastballs.Mariners: RHP Felix Hernandez threw 25 pitches off a mound for the first time since going on the disabled list with a strained calf. Manager Scott Servais said Hernandez didnt feel any discomfort but there is no timeline yet on a possible return. ... LHP Charlie Furbush threw a 35-pitch bullpen session and is scheduled to throw to hitters on Saturday.UP NEXT:Pirates: Jameson Taillon (1-1) makes his fifth career start on Wednesday. Hes allowed eight earned runs in eight innings over his past two starts.Mariners: Wade Miley (6-3) returns after missing two weeks. Mileys last start came on June 12 when he lost against Texas. Miley was placed on the disabled list with an impingement in his left shoulder. ' ' '