The Reds acquired first baseman/outfielder Roberto Petagine Thursday from the New York Mets in a minor-league trade and invited him to major league spring training camp.
The Reds gave up infielder Yuri Sanchez, who hit .255 last year at Single-A Burlington.
Petagine, 26, was the Triple-A International League MVP at Norfolk, where his 31 home runs and 100 RBI were second in the league. He led the league with a .430 on-base percentage, was tied for third with 90 runs scored and was fourth with a .317 batting average.
Petagine has struggled in the majors in parts of the last four seasons: A .212 average in 245 at-bats, including 1-for-15 last year with the Mets.
With the Reds' first base and outfield situations crowded, it's not clear how good a chance Petagine would have at making the major league roster. But Petagine, a left-hander, gives the Reds the full compliment at first base: a lefty, a righty (Eduardo Perez) and a switch-hitter (Dmitri Young).
Petagine was traded by Houston to San Diego as part of the Ken Caminiti deal in 1994 and was traded to the Mets in 1996.
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