Padres land prospect Avila, send Norris to Nats

SAN DIEGO — The Padres continued their youth movement on Friday, parting ways with catcher Derek Norris in exchange for Nationals pitching prospect Pedro Avila.

A 19-year-old right-hander from Venezuela, Avila was rated as Washington’s No. 23 prospect by MLBPipeline.com. Since signing with the Nats in 2014, he owns a 2.93 ERA with 10.58 strikeouts per nine innings over 34 career Minor League appearances.

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The deal clears room for Austin Hedges to become the Padres’ primary catcher in 2017 — a move which appeared likely even if Norris had remained on the roster. Hedges, who is considered the organization’s catcher of the future, batted .326/.353/.597 with 21 homers for Triple-A El Paso last season. He is viewed by many in baseball as the one of the game’s elite young defenders.

Meanwhile, Norris is coming off his worst season in which he posted a .186/.255/.328 slash line. He played 125 games and received some praise for his pitch-framing abilities. But with Hedges’ arrival, a trade was always imminent.

Norris came to the …

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