Padres add more offense, get Moreland
The San Diego Padres picked up slugger Mitch Moreland in a trade Sunday with Boston.
In exchange, the Red Sox acquired a pair of prospects from San Diego, outfielder Jeisson Rosario and infielder Hudson Potts.
Moreland adds even more power to an already explosive San Diego lineup.
The Padres are making one move after another in pursuit of their first playoff appearance in 14 years. On Saturday, they bolstered their bullpen by acquiring Trevor Rosenthal in a trade with the Kansas City Royals.
Moreland, who turns 35 on Sept. 6, was leading the Red Sox with eight homers, 21 RBI and a .328 batting average. He’s made 19 starts at first base this season and three more as a designated hitter.
Originally a 17th round pick by Texas in 2007, Moreland is hitting .253 over his career with 174 homers and 491 RBIs. He has been on teams that have made the playoffs in seven of the last 10 seasons, including the World Series champion Red Sox in 2018.
The left-handed slugger earned his first All-Star Game selection in 2018. He was a Gold Glove winner at first in 2016.
Moreland reached 10 years of major league service on Saturday.
Cubs acquire Martinez: The Chicago Cubs acquired José Martínez in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, giving manager David Ross another option at designated hitter.
The 32-year-old Martínez is a .294 hitter with 43 homers and 182 RBI in 422 major league games. He debuted with St. Louis in 2016 and spent four years with the Cardinals before he was traded to the Rays in January.
MLB cancels A’s-Astros game due to positive COVID-19 test: The Oakland Athletics had one member of their organization test positive for COVID-19, causing Major League Baseball to postpone the team’s game Sunday against the Houston Astros.
The finale of the A’s three-game series at Minute Maid Park was called off less than four hours before it was scheduled to start.
The A’s said the team conducted testing and contact tracing for the entire traveling party Sunday morning and would self-isolate in Houston with recommended safety precautions in place.
The Astros beat the Athletics 6-3 on Saturday night for a doubleheader sweep. They won the first game 4-2.
The doubleheader was scheduled after the A’s and Astros decided not to play Friday night to raise awareness of racial inequality in the wake of the police shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake.
COVID-19 testing has now postponed 38 games.
All 30 major league teams played Saturday the same day for the first time since July 26.