Phillies Acquire Brad Lincoln

The Phillies announced that they acquired right-handed pitcher Brad Lincoln from the Blue Jays in exchange for catcher Erik Kratz and minor league left-hander Rob Rasmussen.

Lincoln, 28, appeared in 22 games for Toronto in 2013 and posted a 3.98 ERA with 7.1 K/9 and 6.3 BB/9.  Over parts of four big league seasons, Lincoln owns a 4.66 ERA with 6.8 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 for the Pirates and Blue Jays.

Rasmussen combined to post a 4.11 ERA with 7.5 K/9 and 4.0 BB/9 in 28 games (24 starts) for the Dodgers Triple-A and Double-A affiliates.  The 5-9, 160-pound left-handed pitcher was traded from Los Angeles to the Phillies in exchange for Michael Young on August 31st.  The 24-year-old is no stranger to being moved around, as he has now been involved in four career trades, including the aforementioned Young deal.

Kratz, 33, hit just .213/.280/.386 in 218 major league plate appearances last season.  For his career, the backstop owns a slash line of .220/.281/.407 across four seasons with the Pirates and Phillies.  Kratz is expected to compete with Josh Thole for the backup job behind Dioner Navarro.