CLARK BACK WITH D'BACKS
The Arizona Diamondbacks acquired first baseman Tony Clark from the San Diego Padres for pitcher Evan Scribner.
What does it give the Arizona Diamondbacks
Clark was with the D'backs from 2005-07, but left via free agency in the off-season. Rejoining the team, he'll most likely return to his role as their top pinch hitter, while the short term may see him get a few starts against left-handed pitchers, as Chris Burke has been struggling in a platoon with Chad Tracy. Clark's a veteran who can provide leadership and mentoring to some of Arizona's younger hitters, and he may still have some pop left in his switch-hitting bat, if 17 home runs and an .822 OPS last season is any indication. The team also benefits from Clark agreeing to waive a $500,000 trade bonus, which prevented this deal for getting done earlier.
What does it give the San Diego Padres
San Diego stalled out of the gate this season and as such never really had much use for a veteran like Clark, who hit .239 in 88 at-bats with the club. The pitcher they received, right-handed Evan Scribner, was a 28th round selection in last year's draft for Arizona, and is evidently a long way away from being in the major leagues (though he currently has a 1.86 ERA in the Class-A California League). If he pitches a single inning for the Padres the in bigs, the deal is easily beneficial. For now, having someone else paying Clark's salary for a few months doesn't hurt the struggling team.
Fantasy impact
