SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners traded for an infielder on Friday, and made a few housekeeping moves with the 40-man roster.
The new Mariner is 22-year-old Luis Sardinas, acquired in a deal with Milwaukee for Triple-A outfielder Ramon Flores.
It was the 12th major-league trade this offseason, and the fourth pulled by new Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto.
Sardinas is a switch-hitter with a .231 batting average over 79 major-league games with Texas and Milwaukee. He has played second base, shortstop and third.
He was rated a top-100 prospect by Baseball Prospectus and MLB.com in 2013 and 2014, and entered last season as the No. 3 prospect in the Brewers organization. He appeared in 36 games for Milwaukee, hitting .196 with four RBI, eight runs and one triple.
Flores, 23, had come to the Mariners as part of the trade that sent Dustin Ackley to the New York Yankees. He appeared in 14 games with Tacoma before a fractured right fibula ended his season in mid-August.
The Mariners also announced that they moved infielder Patrick Kivlehan and outfielder Boog Powell to the 40-man roster, which is now full.
To make room, the club designated for assignment left-handed pitcher Danny Hultzen, meaning he must be traded, released or outrighted to the minor leagues within 10 days.
Kivlehan, 25, hit .256 with 22 home runs last season over 123 games with the Rainiers.
Powell, 22, came to the Mariners as part of the trade with Tampa Bay for Logan Morrison, Brad Miller and Danny Farquhar.
“The thing that appeals to us most about Boog is his top-of-the-lineup skill set,” Dipoto said at the time. “… He’s checked all the boxes. He controls the strike zone. He’s hit everywhere he’s gone. He runs the bases. He plays defense.”
Hultzen, 23, was the second selection of the 2011 major-league draft. He missed all of 2014 and most of last season with shoulder injuries. He made 35 minor-league starts over his four professional seasons, including a 4-1 record in 2013 with Tacoma.
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