Padres Acquire Jose Pirela From Yankees

The Padres have struck a deal to acquire infielder Jose Pirela from the Yankees, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports on Twitter. New York will add minor league righty Ronald Herrera in return.

Pirela had been a factor in the New York second base picture, but he struggled in limited MLB time this year. The soon-to-be 26-year-old was much better in Triple-A, though, slashing a robust .325/.390/.433 in 259 plate appearances. He’s played all over the field in the minor, but has primarily featured as a second baseman in recent years.

While Pirela played shortstop early on in his career, he has not spent much time there as he’s moved up in the system. That makes it difficult to peg him as an option at short for San Diego, though the team has utilized far less obvious candidates there in the not-so-distant past (including Will Middlebrooks and Jedd Gyorko). Pirela might well serve as an affordable and versatile bench piece, however.

Herrera made it to the Double-A level last year at just 20 years of age. The Venezuelan native came to San Diego as the player to be named later in the trade that sent Kyle Blanks to the A’s. He worked 145 2/3 innings this year, split between High-A and Double-A, with a 4.08 ERA and 6.4 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9. Herrera is known as a polished but undersized hurler who could eventually find a place in a big league rotation.