The San Diego Padres have completed a deal to acquire catcher Jason Castro from the Los Angeles Angels.
For the third time within the last 24 hours, San Diego Padres general manager AJ Preller has made a trade, with just under 24 hours remaining until the 2020 MLB trade deadline.
As first announced by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the San Diego Padres have acquired Los Angeles Angels catcher Jason Castro. At the time of this writing, the return is unknown.
Padres acquiring catcher Jason Castro from Angels, sources tell The Athletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 30, 2020
The Padres bolstered their bullpen by adding Kansas City Royals reliever Trevor Rosenthal on Saturday for outfield prospect Edward Olivares and a Player To Be Named Later and followed that move up by acquiring Mitch Moreland from Boston for two prospects in Hudson Potts and Jeisson Rosario.
With a plethora of prospects to work with, many of whom becoming Rule 5 draft eligible this offseason, the return to Los Angeles is likely to be a prospect of note for the struggling Angels.
Typically a healthy backstop and above-average framer/defensive catcher, Castro is not only a fairly safe pickup for the San Diego Padres, but an inexpensive option to split time with Austin Hedges. Hedges’ usual tag-team partner behind the plate, Francisco Mejia, has been a bit banged up with a thumb injury and was hitting .079 before hitting the IL.
Through 18 games, Jason Castro is hitting just .192, but has a .323 on-base percentage, two home runs, four doubles, and a 98 wRC+ which currently ranks as his second-highest wRC+ behind his 103 mark last season with the Minnesota Twins.
The offensive numbers may not wow anyone, but it’s an upgrade over what the Padres currently have on their roster. While a noted prospect, Luis Torrens has shown he’s not quite ready to make the jump from Double-A to the big leagues and isn’t someone the Padres want to rely on in a playoff run.
Hedges is a huge defensive asset to manager Jayce Tingler, but the 28-year-old catcher is hitting .167 in 28 games and owns a wRC+ of just 70.
We will have to wait and see who the San Diego Padres send back to LA to complete the trade, but for now, the Padres have themselves yet another piece to add to their lineup and make a run at a 2020 MLB postseason birth.