Padres acquire Jose Pirela from the Yankees

A.J. Preller may not be able to swing as many big time deals as he did last offseason, but don't think for a minute he won't swing a couple. Today's, however, is just a minor deal. A swap with the Yankees that involves some lesser known names going either way.

Yankees have traded Jose Pirela to the Padres for minor-league pitcher Ron Herrera.

— Mark Feinsand (@FeinsandNYDN) November 11, 2015

Jose Pirela is a middle infielder from Venezuela who spent a little time with the Yankees major league team this past season. He was on the Yankees 40 man roster so he immediately jumps on to the Padres roster and will likely compete for either the SS job or a utility player role. Pirela turns 26 later this month, so his days as a prospect are fading, but he has been a fringe prospect for the last couple years in the Yankees system and should project to be an okay big leaguer. If you peek at his numbers, he hits pretty well.

Ron Herrera was a starting pitcher for both Lake Elsinore and San Antonio last season. The Venezuelan's numbers aren't much to look at, but he will be just 21 in 2016 and already have experienced AA. It looks like the Yankees needed to make room on their 40 man roster and dealt Pirela without concern for getting too much in return.