Nationals acquire catcher Derek Norris from the Padres

The Nationals have acquired veteran catcher Derek Norris from the San Diego Padres in exchange for a minor league pitcher.

Norris was drafted by the Nationals in the fourth round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft out of Goddard High School in Kansas. He accepted the Nationals' professional contract offer instead of a full-ride baseball scholarship to Wichita State.

"I'm very excited to be back where everything started for me," Norris said via text message. "Excited to be back in the Capitol and help bring a championship for this franchise and for the city."

Almost five years ago to the day (Dec. 23, 2011), Norris was part of a multi-player trade that landed him in Oakland. Norris joins right-hander A.J. Cole as two of the four players in that trade to be re-acquired by the Nationals.

Norris played three seasons with the A's and the last two campaigns in San Diego. In a 2015 visit to Nats Park with the Padres, he looked back on his time with the Nationals.

Norris, 27, was a 2014 American League All-Star and has a career .233 batting average with 93 doubles, four triples, 54 homers and 223 RBIs. He has caught in at least 125 games in each of the last three seasons.

He has established himself as an outstanding defensive catcher in his five seasons in the majors. According to Baseball Prospectus, Norris ranked 10th in the major leagues in framing runs above average at 9.2.

Jose Lobaton was re-signed yesterday, and with veteran free agent Wilson Ramos recovering from major knee surgery, Norris could play a major role behind the plate for the Nationals.

San Diego acquired right-hander Pedro Avila from the Nationals. Avila, 19, was 14-10 with a 2.93 ERA in two seasons (34 games) in the Nationals' minor league system.