Padres Rumors: Team nearing deal to acquire Austin Nola from Mariners

The Padres are reportedly close to acquiring their second catcher of the day, Austin Nola, from the Mariners.

Just a couple of hours after acquiring Jason Castro from the Angels, the Padres are on the verge of landing another catcher in Austin Nola. Leave no stone unturned when it comes to general manager AJ Preller, who is clearly going for it in this shortened season. The Friars recently saw Nola and the Mariners, losing two of three at home.

Nola, 30, homered in the series opener, and he’s quietly having a tremendous season. Through 29 games, the former fifth-round pick of the Marlins in the 2012 MLB Draft is posting a .306/.373/.531 line with five doubles, one triple, five long balls, and 19 RBI.

The downside to Nola’s game is that he rarely throws anyone out, just seven percent on the year, which is well below the league average of 25 percent. But while he’s labeled as a catcher, Nola can play multiple positions with the most innings in his career coming at first base.

He also plays a little second base and a cup of coffee at third and in the outfield. Given Passan’s language that a highly regarded prospect will be sent over and the fact that Nola is under control for the next several years, it would seem to make sense that Luis Campusano is included in the deal.

The question going forward is, where does Austin Hedges fit into all of this? Has he played his last game in San Diego? With Castro and presumably now Nola, Hedges would seem to be the odd man out after batting only .158 through 29 games. He’s an excellent pitch framer, but the catcher position has been one of the most significant black holes on the roster this year.

While the Nola news broke, the Padres were reportedly the frontrunners for Cleveland Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger, so we will keep tabs on that as well.

We’ll update this post when it becomes public who the Padres are sending over to Seattle.

UPDATE:

Taylor Trammell is the trade chip going to the Mariners. The Padres have lost two outfielders in trades after Edward Olivares was sent to Kansas City for Trevor Rosenthal.