A reported three-team trade involving the Reds, Blue Jays, and Angels that would have moved Reds outfielder Jay Bruce to Toronto is “dead” at the moment because of an impediment that occurred during the medical review process, per ESPN’s Buster Olney.
In the proposed trade, the Angels — who own the worst farm system ESPN’s Keith Law has ever seen in the eight-year history of his organizational rankings – would have sent at least one prospect to the Reds and acquired Blue Jays outfielder Michael Saunders.
Yahoo!’s Jeff Passan reported that the hold-up in the deal was caused by the review of a single player’s medical files. According to Passan, the player in question was not Bruce. Many writers speculated that the player was Saunders, who played in just nine games last season because of a knee injury and has yet to complete a full campaign in his seven-year MLB career.
Passan also reported that the Reds previously engaged in a failed deal with the Blue Jays and the Athletics earlier in the offseason that would have shipped Bruce to Toronto. The following tweet by Passan should make Reds fans cringe/prepare for further Bruce trade speculation:
That said: The Reds have shown a willingness to trade Jay Bruce for a not-so-big return, and other teams could pounce knowing price is low.
 Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 23, 2016
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman first reported the resurgence in the Bruce trade talks Monday evening.
UPDATE: FOX’s Ken Rosenthal reported Tuesday morning that is was a Blue Jays minor leaguer whose medicals apparently stalled the trade, and not Saunders.