A's acquire Zobrist, Escobar from Rays

Jan 10, 2015 - 8:18 PM Oakland, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Oakland Athletics acquired infielders Ben Zobrist and Yunel Escobar from the Tampa Bay Rays for catcher John Jaso, minor league infielder Daniel Robertson and minor league outfielder Boog Powell.

To clear a spot on the 40-man roster, the A's designated infielder Andy Parrino for assignment.

Zobrist, who made his MLB debut with the Rays in 2006, leaves Tampa Bay as the franchise's all-time leader in doubles (229) and walks (542) and ranks second in games, runs (565), hits (1016) and triples (32).

The 33-year-old Zobrist batted .272 with 10 home runs and 52 RBI in 146 games last year. He started games at five different positions, including 74 at second base, 23 at shortstop, 17 in left field, 16 in right field and seven in center field.

Zobrist is a .264 career hitter with 114 home runs, 511 RBI and 102 stolen bases over 1,064 games.

Escobar hit .258 with seven home runs and 39 RBI in 137 games with Tampa Bay in 2014. His 476 at-bats were his fewest since his rookie season of 2007 (319).

The 32-year-old Escobar is a .276 career hitter with 69 home runs and 393 RBI in 1,074 games with Atlanta (2007-10), Toronto (2010-12) and Tampa Bay (2013-14). Since 2008, he's started 950 games at shortstop, most in the majors.

Jaso batted .264 with nine home runs and 40 RBI in 99 games with Oakland in 2014. His season was cut short due to a concussion for the second consecutive year.

The 31-year-old Jaso returns to the Rays, who selected him in the 12th round of the 2003 draft. He has hit .259 with 32 homers and 182 RBI in 480 career games with Tampa Bay (2008, 10-11), Seattle (2012) and Oakland (2013-14).

Robertson is a .287 career hitter with 29 home runs and 136 RBI in 288 games over three seasons in the minors.

Powell has batted .317 with three home runs and 55 RBI in 177 career games in three minor league seasons.