The Texas Rangers added some outfield depth by making a trade with San Diego, acquiring outfielder Will Venable.
The Rangers sent Class A catcher/outfielder Marcus Greene and a player to be named later to the Padres in exchange for Venable, 32.
Venable, who hits left-handed, was batting .258 with six home runs and 30 RBI in 98 games for the Padres. He's a .252 career hitter and can play all three outfield spots.
With Josh Hamilton nursing a sore left knee and the Rangers thin in the outfield, Texas general manager Jon Daniels said the move made sense.
"Will's a good baseball player, a smart player, tremendous reputation on and off the field," Daniels said. "He's a left-hand hitter who can run. He gives us some depth and in case of an injury, Josh's knee nagging or something else coming up down the line, he gives us some protection."
Daniels said he expects Venable to join the Rangers when they begin a four-game series in Detroit Thursday. The club will have to make a roster move then. To make room for Venable on the 40-man roster the Rangers designated outfielder Michael Choice for assignment.
Choice, who was acquired before the 2014 season, has spent all but one game at Triple A Round Rock this year. He was batting .244 with 12 homers and 60 RBI. The Arlington resident was on the Opening Day roster for Texas last year but struggled to hit and was sent down.
"Obviously we'd have liked to seen it pan out," Daniels said. "His right-hand power would have been a good fit for us but it didn't pan out that way, not for a lack of effort. We didn't consider him an option here this month."
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