Trade: Pirates & Padres Swing A Deal

April 17, 2025 ,


The Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres have pulled off a one-for-one deal, with the Bucs acquiring a depth catcher who's had a cup of coffee in the majors over a 10-year career. In exchange, the Padres receive a depth outfielder. 

The Padres had outrighted Sullivan at the end of spring training. He'd played a total of 40 games with just over 100 plate appearances for the Friars over the previous two years, batting .206 in the process, with a couple of homers. 

The backstop has a decent slash line at Triple-A over the last five seasons, .271/.342/.449 with an OPS of .791. 

He'll probably offer some support at the major league level for Pittsburgh, who have some injury problems to deal with behind the plate, as both Joey Bart and Endy Rodríguez are injured. They recently called up former top prospect Henry Davis, who can act as both a catcher and outfielder. 

On the Padres' side, Johnson heads back to the organization after spending 47 games with the club in 2024, hitting .206 with a .524 OPS before being non-tendered by the team at the end of the season. He had signed a minor league deal with the Pirates in the spring. 

Overall, he has 88 games under his belt at the major league level, with the Padres and San Francisco Giants. He has a .177/.248/.226 slash line, but across five seasons in Triple-A, he has some impressive numbers, batting .282 with a .799 OPS while flashing his speed, with 100 stolen bases. 

Johnson has a chance of getting in some time at the major league level, as the Friars have had some injury problems of late in the outfield, with both Jackson Merrill and Brandon Lockridge going down to hamstring strains. They've had to resort to using 35-year-old Jason Heyward in the OF, where he's managed only a .190 average and a 50 OPS+ (50% worse than the average major league hitter). 


Photo: © Jasen Vinlove-Imagn Images

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