TORONTO - Depending on which scuttlebutt you trust, Jose Bautista is either the subject of talks that may go right up to Saturday's 4 p.m. ET non-waiver trade deadline, or an integral piece for the Toronto Blue Jays who isn't going anywhere any time soon.

Either way, the major-league home run leader continued his relentless assault on opposition pitchers Friday, belting his third career grand slam in the fourth inning of an 8-1 rout of the Cleveland Indians.

Bautista also added two singles, a hit-by-pitch and a walk to go with his 31st home run and four RBIs, giving him 79 for the season. His slam made it a 7-0 contest while providing a dominant Shaun Marcum (10-4) more than enough cushion as the Blue Jays (54-49) won their fourth straight.

Fred Lewis added a solo shot, Edwin Encarnacion and Yunel Escobar added RBI singles and Escobar also scored on a wild pitch to complete the beating of Justin Masterson (3-10) before a crowd of 20,228.

Marcum, meanwhile, allowed just a run on three hits while baffling the Indians (42-61) to the tune of 10 strikeouts over seven innings.

Bautista is one of several Blue Jays to have been the focal point of rumours in the leadup to the deadline -- along with relievers Scott Downs, Jason Frasor, Kevin Gregg, catcher John Buck and first baseman Lyle Overbay -- and new reports linking him to the San Francisco Giants emerged during the game.

The first-time all-star -- earning US$2.4 million in 2010 and under reasonable contractual control through 2011 -- is a rare combination of power and versatility with plus defence at multiple positions, making him worth keeping even if the numbers from his breakthrough campaign aren't repeated. It would likely take a handsome sum to pry him away from general manager Alex Anthopoulos, who has hinted at the 29-year-old's emergence into a core piece this season.

The same goes for his relievers, who are likely to bring the Blue Jays at least one compensatory draft pick, if not two in Downs' case, should they leave as free agents, so Anthopoulos has no reason to drop his demands, which some teams have complained about.

One player was apparently traded during the game, with Indians outfielder Austin Kearns pulled in the seventh inning after he singled. Multiple reports suggested he was bound for the New York Yankees.

Bautista came out of the game after his eighth-inning walk, but with the game 8-1 at that point, manager Cito Gaston was likely just giving him a rest. Travis Snider pinch-ran for him and played the field in the ninth.

The fans showed their appreciation for Bautista, with faint chants of "MVP" arising when he came to the plate.

Notes: The Blue Jays picked up 1B Mike Jacobs from the New York Mets for a player to be named later in a minor-league deal aimed at filling the void at triple-A Las Vegas created by Thursday's trade of 1B Brett Wallace for OF Anthony Gose. ... Wallace's departure has also blown the Blue Jays' succession plans at first, with Lyle Overbay set to become a free agent after the season. Manager Cito Gaston says it's a bit more important now to get Adam Lind some playing time at first down the stretch. "We want to see if he can play over there," said Gaston. "But, you know, in the off-season, there's still some first basemen out there that you can go get." ... OF Travis Snider rejoined the Blue Jays after 2 1-2 months away with a sprained right wrist that took much longer to heal than initially expected. "Every time I felt OK to try and swing, it was a quick reminder that I wasn't ready," he said. "I have that kind of mentality where I will go out there and push myself sometimes too hard. So it was a balancing act that I had to work through." ... Blue Jays reliever Jason Frasor says living with constant trade rumours hasn't been easy. "I think we dwell on it too much because it's really out of our control," he said, adding he hopes to stay put. "I've been here seven years somehow. My wife is Canadian, my son was just born here, even my dog's Canadian so I've got some roots here, man. I love it here."