D-backs acquire Cubs’ Sergio Alcántara; trade Josh VanMeter for Pirates’ Listher Sosa
Mar 31, 2022, 6:13 PM | Updated: Apr 1, 2022, 7:15 am
The Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday acquired Chicago Cubs infielder Sergio Alcántara for cash considerations on Sunday and designated infielder Josh VanMeter for assignment.
On Friday, the D-backs announced that they traded VanMeter to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for 21-year-old right-handed pitcher Listher Sosa.
The 25-year-old Alcántara started 64 games last year and appeared in 25 more. He played 50 games at shortstop, 21 at second base and three at third.
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Alcántara slashed .205/.303/.327 in 220 at-bats with 17 RBIs, 30 walks and 74 strikeouts. It was his second major league season after appearing in 10 games for the Detroit Tigers in 2020.
Arizona’s acquisition of Alcántara is notable with veteran shortstop Nick Ahmed set to undergo an MRI on his right shoulder for the same injury that kept him out of the final two weeks of last season. Though Ahmed played 129 games last year, the D-backs do not have a clear-cut backup at the position, though Geraldo Perdomo appears to be the next man up.
Alcántara signed out of the Dominican Republic with the Diamondbacks in 2012 and was traded to the Tigers in the J.D. Martinez midseason swap in 2017.
Sosa signed as a non-drafted free agent in June 2018 and has yet to make his single-A debut. In 2019 with the Rookie DSL Pirates, Sosa went 3-2 with a 2.72 ERA across 53.0 innings pitched. in 11 starts.
After not being able to pitch in 2020 due to there being no minor league season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sosa’s 2021 campaign saw him go a combined 3-1 with a 4.31 ERA to go along with 33 strikeouts in 11 games (two starts) across 31.1 innings pitched with two Rookie FCL Pirates squads.
VanMeter was acquired by the D-backs in 2020 in the trade with the Cincinnati Reds that sent reliever Archie Bradley out of Arizona.
The infielder appeared in 112 games last season and batted .212 with 17 doubles, six home runs and 36 RBIs. He struck out 83 times to walking 33.
