Padres trade Norris to Nationals
The Washington Nationals took care of their need for catching help on Friday, acquiring Derek Norris from the San Diego Padres in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Pedro Avila.
Norris has been rumored to be on the block for some time, as the rebuilding Padres looked to clear space for catching prospect Austin Hedges and shed some salary.
Originally drafted by the Nationals in 2007 and traded to the Oakland Athletics four years later, Norris returns to Washington and will compete with Jose Lobaton for the starting job.
"I'm very excited to be back where everything started for me," Norris told Byron Kerr of MASN Sports via text message. "Excited to be back in the Capitol and help bring a championship for this franchise and for the city."
An All-Star in 2014, Norris is coming off a disappointing season in San Diego in which he hit .186/.255/.328, but did manage to tie his career-high 14 home runs while also adding 17 doubles. He slashed .259/.330/.403 with 24 home runs, 52 doubles and 117 RBIs in 274 games from 2014-15 and could be a strong bounce-back candidate with a change of scenery.
Norris, 27, is under team control through the next two seasons and is projected to earn $4 million in salary arbitration this winter.
The Nationals were in need of a catcher after Wilson Ramos hit free agency.
Meanwhile, Avila is coming off his first season with Single-A Hagerstown. The 19-year-old went 7-7 with a 3.97 ERA and 1.33 WHIP across 93 innings, striking out 92. He was the Nationals 23rd ranked prospect according to MLB pipeline.