San Diego Padres acquire Derek Norris from the Oakland Athletics

Less than 24 hours after they acquired Wil Myers from the Tampa Bay Rays in a three team, eleven player trade, the San Diego Padres are at it again – this time completing a multi-player deal with the Oakland Athletics that will send catcher Derek Norris to the Padres, according to reports by the NY Daily News’ Mark Feinsand (links 1, 2).

The trade in full goes as follows, per Yahoo’s Jeff Passan:

• San Diego receives Norris, pitcher Seth Streich, and an international signing bonus slot
• Oakland receives pitchers Jesse Hahn and R.J. Alvarez

Last season with the A’s, Norris batted .270/.361/.403 with 10 home runs in 442 plate appearances in what was a breakout offensive year for the 25 year old. His 10 home runs, 19 doubles, and 54 walks all marked career highs. Norris is not without his faults, however, as there are questions about his abilities behind the plate defensively.

He will presumably step into the starting role with the Padres, but will still be sharing some of the playing time behind the plate as Norris is the third catcher the team has acquired this offseason via trade – Ryan Hanigan came over from Tampa Bay along with Myers and the team also acquired Tim Federowicz as part of the deal that brought Matt Kemp to San Diego. Norris and Hanigan will likely see most of the playing time, with Federowicz serving as additional depth.

The Padres also acquired Streich in the deal, who was a 6th Round pick by Oakland in the 2012 draft. Last season at Class-A he posted a 3.16 ERA and a 116/22 K:BB ratio in 114 innings. At the time of the deal, Streich was listed as the 25th best prospect in Oakland’s system by Baseball America.

As for the A’s, they received a pair of right-handed pitchers.

Hahn was terrific for the Padres in his rookie season this past year, posting a 3.07 ERA and a 70/32 K:BB rate in 73.1 IP. He’s 25 years old and four years removed from undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2010. Hahn still carries upside and gives the A’s yet another young arm to add to their depth.

Alvarez made his MLB debut with the Padres this past season, allowing just one run in eight relief appearances. He does have some impressive minor league numbers, posting a 2.41 ERA and 178/51 K:BB rate in 119.1 IP, mostly out of the bullpen.

With the trade complete, it’s become more clear that the Padres are not rebuilding but rather overhauling their roster with the hope of making a playoff push this coming season. The team had pitching in place, but this deal further signifies a step towards fixing a roster that produced some of the worst offensive numbers in baseball a season ago.