The San Diego Padres on Sunday acquired catcher Austin Nola from the Seattle Mariners as part of a seven-player deal.
Part of the return for Seattle is one of San Diego’s top prospects, outfielder Taylor Trammell. Other players included in the Mariners’ haul are infielder Ty France, catcher Luis Torrens and right-handed relief pitcher Andres Munoz.
Headed to the Padres are relievers Austin Adams and Dan Altavilla. A big-time right-handed arm who struck out 51 in 31 innings last year, Adams has been recovering from ACL surgery but will return soon and should be a nice addition for San Diego alongside the recently acquired Trevor Rosenthal.
Nola is hitting .306 this season for Seattle, with five home runs and 19 RBIs in 29 games as the team’s primary backstop. Last season, he batted .269 with 10 homers and 31 RBIs in 79 games.
Trammell was dealt by Cincinnati to the Padres last season in a three-way trade involving the Cleveland Indians.
Trammell is rated the Padres’ No. 5 prospect and MLB’s 75th overall by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. He hit .234 with 10 home runs, 43 RBIs and 20 stolen bases in 126 games in Double-A last season.
Nola is the older brother of Philadelphia Phillies right-handed starter Aaron Nola.
The Padres currently have the second-most wins (21) in the National League, trailing only division rival Los Angeles (26). They are looking to end a playoff drought dating to 2006.
San Diego has been busy as Monday’s 4 p.m. ET trade deadline approaches, acquiring slugger Mitch Moreland from the Boston Red Sox earlier Sunday and also doing a deal for Los Angeles Angels veteran catcher Jason Castro, according to sources. Those moves came on the heels of the Padres making a big splash with their trade for Kansas City’s Rosenthal on Saturday.
