Dodgers News: Shawn Zarraga Acquired In Minor-League Deal

While many await the fate of the Matt Kemp deal to the San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles Dodgers must continue their offseason despite the unknown.

With the loss of Drew Butera and the potential loss of Tim Federowicz, the Dodgers needed catching depth at the minor-league level. On Wednesday morning the team completed the Drew Butera trade via their official Twitter account:

The Dodgers acquired minor-league IF/OF Matt Long from the @Angels to complete the December 9 trade of Drew Butera. (1/2)

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) December 18, 2014

Following the completion of that trade, the Dodgers made another move to address the catching depth:

The Dodgers then traded minor-league IF/OF Matt Long and LHP Jarret Martin to the @Brewers for minor-league C Shawn Zarraga. (2/2)

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) December 18, 2014

Long is a six-year minor leaguer who has yet to reach the majors. He was drafted by the Angels in 2009. The 27-year-old has a career .286 batting average in the minors along with an .820 overall OPS. Martin is a left-hander that was acquired by the Dodgers in a trade for Dana Eveland in 2011 with the Baltimore Orioles. Martin has reached as high as Double-A in his career and he was designated for assignment when the team picked up Mike Bolsinger from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

As for Zarraga, he was drafted by the Brewers in 2007 and reached his highest level in 2014, when he was promoted to Triple-A. He is a career .283 hitter in the minors, but has little pop with just 13 home runs in seven seasons. He will likely head to the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate, the Oklahoma City Dodgers. Depending on other moves made this winter, Zarraga could find himself getting a bulk of the playing time.