The A's have acquried left-hander Fernando Abad from the Nationals in exchange for Class-A outfielder John Wooten, according to the MLB Network's Peter Gammons (Twitter link). Abad was one of two 40-man roster casualties last week when he and Tyler Robertson were designated for assignment in order to clear roster space for Sammy Solis, Michael Taylor and Aaron Barrett in advance of the Rule 5 Draft.
Abad will turn 27 in three weeks and is coming off a solid season in which he pitched to a 3.35 ERA with 7.6 K/9 and 2.4 BB/9 in 37 2/3 innings of work for the Nationals. Abad turned in a curious reverse platoon split, as opposing lefties batted .306/.338/.452 against him, albeit in a small sample size of just 65 plate appaearances. He also had a poor finish to the season, allowing 10 runs in his final 13 1/3 ininngs and serving up the only three homers he allowed all season.
Abad has two years, 73 days of service time, so he won't be eligible for arbitration until next offseason and can be controlled through 2017 should he excel in his new surroundings.
The 22-year-old Wooten was a 37th-round selection by the A's in the 2012 draft and had a solid season for Class A Beloit in 2012, batting .257/.333/.430 with 20 homers in 555 plate appearances. Though he's primarily a right fielder, Wooten also appeared in 10 games at third base, six at first base and one at second base. He did not appear on Baseball America's list of Top 30 A's prospects prior to the season, nor does he currently appear on MLB.com's list of Top 20 A's farmhands.
