Mere minutes after noting the Diamondbacks were looking into Oakland Athletics relievers Brad Ziegler and Grant Balfour, a deal appears to be done. Reports indicate the A's will send Brad Ziegler to Arizona in exchange for first baseman Brandon Allen and reliever Jordan Norberto.
Allen has been up with the big league Diamondbacks since July 15. In 11 games, Allen is hitting .172 with 3 home runs and 7 RBIs. In 83 games at Triple-A, Allen had a line of .306/.427/.579 with 18 home runs and 66 RBIs. Allen was originally drafted by the Chicago White Sox in 2004 and was dealt to Arizona in 2009. He spent 243 games at Triple-A before getting the call up.
Norberto has been with the Diamondbacks Triple-A squad the entire season. In 41 games he is 6-2 with a 4.25 ERA and 1.48 WHIP. The A's have yet to announce the deal, so it remains to be seen whether Allen will join the big league squad. The A's have rolled out Conor Jackson at first just about every day lately so barring a Jackson trade, they'll have a decision to make. Allen did play some left field in 2010 for the Diamondbacks, so that does remain an option.