With the Scott Sizemore acquisition giving the A’s more infielders than they can play at Triple-A Sacramento, Oakland sent Steve Tolleson to the Padres today for a player to be named.
Tolleson went unclaimed on waivers this spring despite a nice track record. The 27-year-old was hitting .274/.388/.394 with five homers and eight steals for Sacramento this season. He came in at .332/.412/.503 last year and also hit a respectable .286/.340/.408 in 49 major league at-bats for the A’s.
Tolleson’s problem is that he isn’t much of a shortstop. However, he has plenty of experience both there and second base and he’s also seen time at third and in the outfield this year. With his on-base skills, one would think he’d be a useful player on an NL team. The Padres will stick him in Triple-A for now, but they could soon have him replace another former A’s prospect in Eric Patterson.