Athletics Acquire Kendall

Jason Kendall was traded Saturday from Pittsburgh to Oakland, giving the Athletics one of baseball’s best top-of-the-lineup hitters and most durable catchers. The Pirates get left-hander Mark Redman to stabilize their rotation and left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes.

It’s the first career move for Kendall, 30, after nine losing seasons with the Pirates. The A’s wanted him mostly for his career .387 on-base average -- third-best all-time among catchers with 1,000 or more games caught.

Kendall, a .306 career hitter who batted .319 last season mostly as a leadoff hitter, will probably bat second for Oakland, in front of Eric Chavez. He waived his no-trade clause to play for a team closer to his home in Manhattan Beach.

Redman gives Pittsburgh a second left-hander alongside the fast-developing Oliver Perez (12-10, 2.98 earned-run average). Redman was 11-12 with a 4.71 ERA last season.

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Free-agent Pedro Martinez met with the general manager of the New York Mets in his home country, a month after helping the Boston Red Sox win the World Series. The right-hander had dinner with Omar Minaya in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on Thursday night.