O's receive catcher David Freitas to complete Jim Johnson trade

By Roch Kubatko

Orioles

December 12, 2013, 12:24pm

Comments

ORLANDO, Fla. - Now that the Rule 5 draft has been completed, the Orioles received minor league catcher David Freitas from the Athletics as the player to be named in the Jim Johnson trade. Freitas, who turns 25 on March 18, is the exact kind of hitter Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette is looking to add to the organization - a high on-base guy. The backstop has a career .377 on-base percentage in 373 minor league games spanning four seasons since he was a 15th-round pick of the Nationals in 2010. Overall, Freitas owns a .276/.377/.424 slash line in the minor leagues. Last season, he batted .231/.306/.368 with 10 homers and 30 RBIs in 90 games split between Double-A and Triple-A. He actually performed better with Triple-A Sacramento, hitting .266/.355/.381 with nine extra-base hits and nine RBIs in 29 games. Oakland acquired him from the Nats in exchange for Kurt Suzuki on Aug. 3, 2012, so Freitas is familiar with the area having played in Hagerstown and Potomac in the Washington organization. So, in all, the Orioles netted infielder Jemile Weeks and Freitas from the Athletics for Johnson.