The Pirates and Padres have each announced that right-hander Hunter Stratton has been traded to San Diego for minor league right-hander Andrew Moore.  Both players have been assigned to Triple-A by their new teams, and the Padres moved Jason Adam from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day IL to create a 40-man roster spot for Stratton.

This is the third time Stratton has been traded in a little over 13 months, beginning when the Pirates sent the righty to Atlanta in July 2025.  The Braves then sent Stratton back to Pittsburgh this past June, and Stratton only made two big league appearances for his new/old club before the Bucs designated him for assignment earlier this week.

The right-hander will now head west as a depth option within a Padres bullpen that remains pretty intact after a busy trade deadline, despite lots of speculation that San Diego could part ways with at least one reliever.  Stratton has two minor league options remaining, so the Padres can bring him up as a fresh arm.

After posting solid numbers with the Pirates in 2024, Stratton has a 5.24 ERA over 22 1/3 innings with Pittsburgh and Atlanta over the last two seasons, with an 18.3% strikeout rate and a 6.7% walk rate to show for that small sample.  At the Triple-A level this year, Stratton has a 3.31 ERA and a 23.2K%, but also with a 13.4BB% that is closer to his average walk rate during his minor league career.

Not to be confused with the Andrew Moore who used to pitch for the Mariners, the Moore in this trade is a 26-year-old righty who is still waiting to make his MLB debut.  Moore has spent most of his career in the Reds’ farm system, and was dealt to San Diego in the Connor Joe trade in May 2025.  Moore has made it to Triple-A in each of the last two seasons but has struggled to a 7.02 ERA in 16 2/3 innings at the top minor league level.

Adam hasn’t pitched since June 29 due to a shoulder strain, and this move to the 60-day IL means that he’ll now be out until late August at the earliest.  The most recent health updates (via MLB.com) indicate that Adam isn’t far away from starting a throwing program, but between that throwing progression and some minor league rehab work, he’ll need a good deal of time before he is able to return to San Diego’s pen.