Padres sending Ryan Hanigan to Boston for Will Middlebrooks

Shortly after acquiring Justin Upton on Friday morning, the Padres were back in action again, sending catcher Ryan Hanigan to the Red Sox in exchange for third baseman Will Middlebrooks, as first reported by Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports. The trade will be made official as soon as Middlebrooks passes his physical, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com.

The news comes less than 24 hours after the Padres acquired catcher Derek Norris from the Oakland A's. For Hanigan, his stint with the Padres lasted less than two days. On Wedensday, Hanigan and outfielder Wil Myers were sent to San Diego from Tampa Bay in a deal that involved three teams and eleven players. For the 2014 season, Hanigan posted a slash line of just .218/.318/.324 in 86 games with the Rays, but he was lauded for his pitch-framing skills behind the plate. Just over one year ago, the Rays signed Hanigan to a three year contract extension worth $10.75 million. Before joining the Rays, Hanigan spent seven seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, and he carries a career slash line of .256/.353/.341.

Middlebrooks departure from Boston was widely expected after the Red Sox signed former San Francisco Giant Pablo Sandoval last month. Middlebrooks, a former top prospect in the Boston system, is coming off the worst season in his young career. Over 63 games, Middlebrooks posted a .191/.256/.265 slash line in 234 plate appearances. He has experienced a gradual decline since his breakout season in 2012, in which Middlebrooks posted an .834 OPS, along with 15 home runs in just 75 games. Middlebrooks will compete with incumbent starter Yangervis Solarte, who posted a .705 OPS in his rookie season, which was split between the Yankees and the Padres. After jumping off to a hot start with New York, Solarte would hit just .239 after May 21st.