When the trade deadline arrived this season, the Toronto Blue Jays acted as both buyers and sellers, as they had not yet made a significant push for the playoffs. Among the best moves made by Ross Atkins was trading left-handed reliever Adam Macko.

It might have seemed insignificant at the time, as utility man Josh Smith joined the ballclub after playing his entire career with the Texas Rangers, as he was posting a 600 OPS this year. However, this is the second-best move the team made, trailing only the young phenom Brett Bateman.

When Smith joined the Blue Jays, the team was in desperate need of an offensive spark to complement Alejandro Kirk, who had been carrying the lineup day in and day out as the perfect picture of consistency. Well, Smith has done just that.

Smith Post Trade Deadline

He isn't getting a ton of playing time; however, despite showing that there is a lot of power in his bat, an aspect of the Jays' lineup that has been nonexistent this season. Over the last month, Smith has only played in 20 games, but has logged five homers in those games.

Now, Toronto is short of explosive hits and big swings this year. The most notable issue has been with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who has only eight on the year through 132 games. The lineup is begging for power, so why isn't he playing more?

Everyone is quickly going to point to how poorly Smith has done against lefties this year, but sometimes the matchups need to be thrown out the window when a guy is hot; he needs to be playing until someone can prove they can get him out.

Since joining the team, Smith is boasting a .275/.375/.650 slash line to bring his OPS over 1,000, and he is getting even better as time goes on. Over his last seven games, Smith is hitting .333 with an on-base percentage creeping towards .500 and a monstrous .933 slugging percentage.

Toronto leads the majors with infield hits by a decent margin. They don't simply need someone to raise their batting average; they need extra-base hits, and that is what the 29-year-old is providing.

The Blue Jays are in the thick of a playoff race, and every game is so important. Their starting rotation is bleeding, and they are going to have to win some games with explosive offense. Every time a right-hander is on the mound, Smith needs to be starting.