A’s acquire IF Tommy La Stella from the Angels for IF Franklin Barreto

OAKLAND, Calif. – ­­­­The Oakland A’s acquired infielder Tommy La Stella from the Los Angeles Angels for infielder Franklin Barreto, the club announced today.

La Stella was batting .273 with four home runs and 14 RBI in 28 games with Los Angeles and also walked 15 times for a .371 on-base percentage. He started 14 games at second base and 10 at first base. The 31-year-old left-handed hitter was named to his first All-Star team last year when he hit .295 with career highs in hits (86), runs (49), home runs (16) and RBI (44). La Stella was originally selected by Atlanta in the 8th round of the 2011 draft and made his Major League debut with the Braves in 2014. He was traded to Chicago (NL) following the 2014 season and spent parts of four seasons with the Cubs before he was dealt to the Angels following the 2018 campaign. La Stella is a .272 career hitter with 30 home runs and 152 RBI in 504 games in seven seasons in the majors. He has started 184 games at second base, 79 at third base and 10 at first base in his career.

Barreto was on the A’s Opening Day roster but is just 0-for-10 with seven strikeouts in 15 games. He did not make his first start until Wednesday at Texas and is leading the majors with eight pinch running appearances. The 24-year-old right-handed hitter has spent parts of each of the last four seasons with Oakland and has a .180 average, nine home runs and 27 RBI in 95 career games. Barreto originally signed with Toronto as a free agent in 2012 and was one of four players traded to the A’s in the Josh Donaldson deal on Nov. 28, 2014.