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The A’s and Nationals struck up another deal Thursday, as Oakland acquired outfielder Corey Brown from Washington for cash.
This marks the eighth trade between the clubs since Mike Rizzo took over as the Nationals’ general manager in 2009.
Brown was designated for assignment last week by Washington and he’s out of options, meaning he must make the A’s major league club out of spring training or be designated for assignment or traded again.
Oakland has four outfielders seemingly guaranteed to make the team – Yoenis Cespedes, Coco Crisp, Josh Reddick and Craig Gentry. They’ve often carried five outfielders in the past but may opt to go with four out of spring due to their crowded infield situation.
The A’s are quite familiar with Brown, a 28-year-old who hit .254 with 19 home runs and 56 RBI for Triple-A Syracuse last season before getting a September call-up. They drafted him in 2007 as a compensation pick following the first round. Brown and reliever Henry Rodriguez were shipped to Washington before the 2011 season for outfielder Josh Willingham.
This is the third trade the A’s and Nationals have completed this offseason alone, with Oakland getting reliever Fernando Abad for outfielder John Wooten and trading reliever Jerry Blevins for minor league outfielder Billy Burns.
The A’s 40-man roster is now full.
