The Brewers sent arbitration-eligible right-hander Marco Estrada to Toronto in exchange for the 31-year-old Lind, whose left-handed bat and high on-base percentage were attractive to a Milwaukee lineup deficient in both areas. For the second straight season, the Brewers were last in the National League in offensive production at first base (.642 OPS), with Mark Reynolds and Lyle Overbay making most of the starts. In 2013, a wide array of Crew first basemen combined for a .629 OPS that ranked last in the Major Leagues. Lind's OPS over those two seasons was .856.

"It's a small group of guys that are available [in terms of free-agent first basemen], so we thought we would be aggressive," Melvin said. "You've got [Washington's Adam] LaRoche, and beyond that, there's not much."

Lind batted .321 with six home runs, 40 RBIs and a .381 on-base percentage in 96 games this past season, making 43 starts at first base and 36 as the Jays' designated hitter. For the second time in three years, the slugger was bothered by a back injury and was limited to fewer than 100 games.

The former third-round Draft pick has spent his entire nine-year Major League career with Toronto, and he is a .273 hitter with a .327 on-base percentage, 146 home runs and 519 RBIs in 953 games. Lind's best season was back in 2009, when he batted .305 with 35 home runs and 114 RBIs in 151 games. He has made 288 career starts at first base, including 109 starts at that position in 2011. It was the only big league season in which Lind made more than 100 starts at first base.

"We're going to give him a chance to go out there and play," Melvin said.

Before executing the trade, the Blue Jays picked up Lind's 2015 option, which will pay him $7.5 million. The Brewers inherited another club option for 2016 at $8 million, with a $500,000 buyout.

In explaining the trade from Toronto's perspective, general manager Alex Anthopoulos said the Jays had previously decided to ease a logjam with Lind/Edwin Encarnacion at first base and designated hitter, and he cited the team's needs elsewhere, particularly in the outfield.

"Adam wasn't going to end up being back on our team, and either we were going to decline the option or make a move if a deal presented itself," Anthopolous said. "We were able to work out a deal with the Brewers and get a guy in Estrada that can fill multiple roles, starting and relieving. [He has] experience doing both, excelled at various times doing both. It gives us a lot of flexibility moving forward and also allows us to allocate some dollars to other areas of need."

Estrada, also 31, went 7-6 with a 4.36 ERA in 39 appearances for the Brewers in 2014, including 18 starts. He allowed a Major League-leading 29 home runs, most of them clearing the fences during a first half in which Estrada says he lost his "feel" in several starts. Estrada was better in the second half, with a 2.81 ERA in 20 relief appearances after the All-Star break.

Estrada is eligible for arbitration this winter after earning $3.325 million last season.

"I knew it could happen, but I kind of didn't want to believe it was going to," Estrada said. "I thought maybe I would get the opportunity to play in Milwaukee another year. But coming off a down year, I knew I was getting a little more expensive over there, and I didn't know if they were going to want to pay that for maybe a middle reliever. I talked to my agent about certain situations that could happen, and this [a trade] was one of them."

As for his role in Toronto, Estrada said, "Obviously they have five really good starters there, and I'm not really sure, to be honest with you. I could be the long guy there. Hopefully no injuries happen to anyone, but if they do, I assume I would get the opportunity to start. It's early in the offseason now, and a lot of moves could still be made.

"On my part, I want to start. That's what I've always wanted to do. All I can hope for is the opportunity. All I can do is show them what I can do, and to get where I want, I just have to pitch good."