Padres notes: Will Venable re-signed, Matt Clark sold to Japan

The San Diego Padres have avoided arbitration with the first of their eight arb-eligible players, agreeing to a one-year, $2.675 million deal with outfielder Will Venable, reports Bill Center of the San Diego Union-Tribune:

Outfielder Will Venable signed a one-year contract Wednesday worth $2.675 million in 2013...

The signing of Venable leaves seven Padres who have filed for arbitration.

Venable, 30, had a solid third full season in right field for the Friars. The lefty-handed outfielder batted .264/.335/.429 with nine home runs in 148 games, amassing a career-best 114 OPS+.

A Super-Two player, Venabable has two more years of arb-eligibility before hitting the free-agent market in 2016.

Center also notes that the Padres have sold the contract of minor-league first baseman Matt Clark to the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese Central League.

A 12th-round pick by the Padres in the 2008 draft, the 26-year-old Clark hit .290/.367/.506 with 22 home runs in 121 games at Triple-A last season.

Clark is the third stateside player to join the Dragons this winter, with utility player Hector Luna and right-hander Brad Bergesen joining the club earlier this offseason.