Reds Acquire Travis Jankowski

The Reds have acquired outfielder Travis Jankowski from the Padres, as announced on San Diego’s official team Twitter feed.  International bonus money will head back to San Diego in return.

2019 was essentially a lost year for Jankowski, who suffered a broken wrist in Spring Training and didn’t start playing until July, turning him into something of an afterthought in a crowded Padres outfield mix.  Jankowski ended up appearing in only 25 games and receiving just 24 plate appearances.  Given that abbreviated campaign, Jankowski wasn’t expected to receive much of an arbitration raise, as MLBTR’s Matt Swartz projected the outfielder to receive only $1.2MM in his second of four arb years as a Super Two player.  (Jankowski earned $1.165MM in 2019.)

It’s a minor enough sum that, despite Jankowski’s struggles last year, he was still an interesting option for a Cincinnati club that is looking to add outfield depth.  Jankowski has displayed some solid glovework at all three outfield positions, making him a decent candidate for bench duty or perhaps as the left-handed hitting side of a platoon.

Between the Jankowski trade and other recent transactions, the Padres have now cleared four spots off their 40-man roster.  San Diego faces something of a 40-man roster crunch given the number of prospects that have to be protected from the Rule 5 draft, so we could perhaps see even more minor housecleaning moves from the team in the coming days.