Indians & Padres Complete Nine-Player Deal
The Cleveland Indians today announced the acquisition of INF GABRIEL ARIAS, LHP JOEY CANTILLO, C AUSTIN HEDGES, INF OWEN MILLER, 1B/OF JOSH NAYLOR and RHP CAL QUANTRILL from the San Diego Padres in exchange for RHP MIKE CLEVINGER, OF GREG ALLEN and a player to be named.
Arias, 20, entered the 2020 season ranked as the seventh-best prospect in the San Diego system (MLB.com) and 94th-overall in MLB (Baseball Prospectus). The right-handed hitting SS had a breakout year in the High-A California League last season, slashing .302/.339/.470 as a 19-year-old while ranking third in the Cal League in RBI (75) and total bases (224), fourth in average (.302) and sixth in slugging pct. (.470) to earn midseason All-Star honors. One of the top prospects in the 2016-17 international signing class, the Venezuela native has hit .270/.319/.396 across three professional seasons. He was a non-roster invitee to spring and summer camp, spending the last five weeks at San Diego’s Alternate Training Site (Univ. of San Diego).
Cantillo, 20, entered the season ranked as the ninth-best prospect in the San Diego system (MLB.com) following an outstanding 2019 campaign, posting a combined record of 10-4 with a 2.26 ERA in 22 starts between low-A Fort Wayne and high-A Lake Elsinore (111.2IP, 70H, 28ER, 34BB, 144SO, .179 avg). He led the Padres system in strikeouts (144) and after the season earned Midwest League postseason and low-A All-Star accolades (Baseball America). The member of San Diego’s 60-man player pool was SD’s 16th round selection in the 2017 draft out of Kailua (HI) High School and has crafted a three-year professional ERA of 2.51 (47ER/168.2IP).
Hedges, 28, has been a full-time member of the Padres since 2017, compiling a Major League career average of .200 (243-for-1217) with a career slash line of .257/.360/.617 in 406 games. He finished tied for fourth among NL catchers in home runs (18) and drove in a career-high 55 runs in 2017 and last season was a NL Rawlings Gold Glove finalist. The San Juan Capistrano, CA native was credited with 21 defensive runs saved (FanGraphs) in 2019, second among Major League catchers behind Roberto Pérez (30 DRS). In 29 games this season, Hedges has hit .167/.262/.352 with three home runs.
Miller, 23, was San Diego’s third round (84th overall) selection in the 2018 draft out of Illinois State University, entering the season rated as the 11th-best prospect in the SD system (MLB). The Fredonia, WI native owns a two-year professional batting average of .307 (247-for-805) with 47 2B, 5 3B, 17 HR and 101 RBI in 205 games. He spent the 2019 season at Double-A Amarillo in the Texas League, batting .290 (147-for-507) with 28 2B, 2 3B, 13HR and 68 RBI in 130 games (.355/.430/.785), leading the TL in hits. After the season, he was named an organizational (MLB.com) and Class-AA All-Star (Baseball America). He was a non-roster invitee to spring and summer camp, spending the last five weeks at San Diego’s Alternate Training Site.
Naylor, 23, was the 12th overall selection in the 2015 MLB Draft and has spent parts of the last two seasons in MLB with the Padres, batting .250 (72-for-288) with 15 2B, 1 3B, 8 HR and 34 RBI in 111 games. He has split the 2020 campaign between San Diego (.278/.316/.417) and the Alternate Training Site after spending the previous season between SD and AAA El Paso, batting .314 (70-for-223) with 20 2B, 10 HR & 42 RBI in 54 games (.936 OPS) in the PCL. The Mississauga, Ontario native is the older brother of Cleveland’s 2018 first round pick Bo Naylor. The two-time SiriusXM Futures game participant (2016-17) was drafted out of HS by the Miami Marlins and acquired by SD in a seven-player deal in July 2016.
Quantrill, 25, was the eighth overall selection by San Diego in the 2016 MLB draft out of Stanford. The Port Hope, Ontario native has spent parts of the last two seasons with the Padres, posting a Major League record of 8-8 with a 4.79 ERA in 33 games/19 starts (120.1IP, 123H, 64ER, 34BB, 107SO). He owns a career ERA of 1.80 in 14 relief outings over those two seasons (25.0IP, 18H, 5ER, 9BB, 24SO). He entered the 2018 campaign ranked as the 40th-best prospect in all of MLB (MLB Pipeline) and participated in the 2017 SiriusXM Futures game. He is the son of Paul Quantrill, a 14-year Major League veteran (1992-2005) and 2001 AL All-Star.