Nats ship out Drew Storen, get Ben Revere to take place of Denard Span

— -- WASHINGTON -- The Nationals accommodated reliever Drew Storen on Friday night, trading him to the American League East champion Blue Jays for outfielder Ben Revere.

Storen, 28, had sought a deal, having lost his closer role in late July when the Nationals acquired Jonathan Papelbon from Philadelphia.

Storen had converted 29 of 30 save chances and had a 1.73 ERA when the Nats got Papelbon. Shifted to an eighth-inning role following that deal, Storen struggled and finished the season with a 3.44 ERA without another save.

He is 21-13 with 95 saves and a 3.02 ERA in six major league seasons, all with the Nationals. He had a 1.12 ERA in 65 games in 2014.

For all his success in the Washington bullpen, the right-hander also was tagged with two big blown saves in the playoffs.

Storen failed to close out St. Louis in the ninth inning of the deciding Game 5 in the 2012 National League Division Series, and he let a ninth-inning lead slip away in Game 2 of the 2014 NLDS against San Francisco.

Storen joins a Toronto relief corps that relied on young Roberto Osuna is the main closer last year. At 20, Osuna led the team with 20 saves.

Revere, 27, figures to take over the center field and leadoff job that Denard Span held. Span signed with San Francisco this week as a free agent.

Revere has hit better than .300 in each of the past three seasons. He batted a combined .306 for the Phillies and Toronto last year, with a .342 on-base percentage and 31 stolen bases.

The Nationals had hoped to boost their offense from the left side of the plate in the offseason. Coming off a disappointing second-place finish in the NL East, they recently signed free-agent second baseman Daniel Murphy -- Murphy and Revere both bat left-handed.

Revere led the NL with 184 hits in 2014 with the Phillies. In six seasons with Minnesota, Philadelphia and Toronto, he has hit .295 with 176 steals.

The Nationals also will receive a player to be named later, and the Blue Jays will receive cash considerations.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.